


Winter Soldier's Soulmate

by Her11



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bucky Barnes Feels, Comic Book Violence, F/M, Fluff, Hydra is awful, Identity Issues, Identity confusion, PTSD, Past Torture, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Bucky Barnes, SO MUCH FLUFF, Slow Burn, Soul Mate AU, Soul bond-AU, What Have I Done, bucky barnes does not understand space, names of soul mates on body, soul marks, soul mate mark, soul mates, the burn is beyond slow, the fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-01-24 07:49:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 27,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18567046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Her11/pseuds/Her11
Summary: The winter soldier is trying his best to figure out who he is after running away from Hydra. He thinks he's doing ok staying hidden until he hears a scream in the apartment building that he's squatting in. Somehow he can't ignore it. He runs to the rescue of an average girl who has a soul mark that makes his head hurt with buried memories. After his daring rescue, they escape together and now are on the run from everyone. Will the winter soldier be able to figure out who he really is in time to save her or will they both perish unknowing of what draws them together?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I LIVE FOR COMMENTS, KUDOS, BOOKMARKS, SUBSCRIPTIONS, AND HITS.  
> Trigger warnings will be at the bottom.  
> If explicit style writing bothers you then don't read.   
> Please talk to me, I'm a hermit.  
> I own Lucy and the story but nothing else.  
> Don't like, don't read.

The soldier stared through the scope at the approaching three individuals. He checked on the fourth member of their group on the roof opposite him. Their sniper wasn’t that skilled since he hadn’t noticed. They were an amateur group at best. The apartment building he had been squatting in was small and run down. The neighborhood wasn’t the safest, but the soldier didn’t mind. He didn’t need much to survive. Or to hide. The men moved in a synchronized pattern as they entered the building. The Soldier watched the sniper, but he wasn’t looking at the apartment he was using. Instead, the man was focused on a different window. The Soldier removed himself from the roof and made his way back into the building. He considered intervening but what would be the point? He moved his way through the building on silent feet with his sniper bag slung over his right shoulder. He was headed for his room when a scream stopped him in his tracks.

The sound went straight to his gut. His feet turned him without him even making the decision. He was racing down the hallway and entering the apartment with the busted door on silent feet. He elbowed the first assailant in the face sending the man’s neck snapping back with a sickening crunch. The second man was a little harder only because he turned with a gun in his hand and fired before the Soldier could move in. He deflected the bullet with his metal arm; and grabbed the man’s throat with his left hand, squeezing ruthlessly, crushing the man’s windpipe without a second thought.

The final man held the woman who had screamed to his front with a gun pointed at the soldier. The soldier stalked forward wanting to push the man to step back and get away from the window so the sniper wouldn’t be able to see the female target any longer. It worked after the assailant tried shooting the soldier six times with no effect. He watched indifferently as fear entered the man’s eyes as he backed away with the woman still clutched to his chest. Self-preservation kicked in as the man pointed the gun at the woman’s head. The man started shouting while the woman cried, but the soldier didn’t bother trying to decipher what the man said. It didn’t matter. He heard the click of the gun as the man pulled the trigger. The woman flinched. The gun didn’t fire. The soldier almost smirked at the look of shock on the assailants face. He should have been counting his bullets. The soldier grabbed the gun and tossed it across the room then grabbed the man by the throat. The amateur let go of the woman and scrabbled at the soldier’s hand with desperate movements. The soldier lifted the man off his feet and casually tossed him out the window breaking it in the process. The sniper fired a single shot. It hit the man who bled out as he plummeted to the street below. The soldier made sure to stay down out of sight of the sniper.

The soldier looked behind him at the woman who had moved; she now crouched in the corner in fear. He focused back on the sniper. The soldier was able to reach over and close the blinds before grabbing the woman by the upper arm and pulling her to her feet. He kept her close to his side as he moved them through the apartment and out into the hallway, making sure to stay between her and the windows just in case. He kept hold of her as he grabbed his rifle bag and made his way up the stairs to another empty apartment he had considered using before deciding on the other one. It had, had a better defensive positioning, as well as a better view.

The woman was saying something, but the soldier didn’t bother to pay attention. It wouldn’t help him defend her any better than he already was, so there was no point in listening. He broke the door handle with a twist of his left hand on the doorknob, snapping the lock. He shoved the door open with his shoulder breaking the door jam to get around the deadbolt.

He moved silently into the empty apartment, closing the door behind them both to keep the light out. He dragged the woman over to the window and pulled the woman down into a crouching position beside him while he looked out of the window. He spotted the sniper hastily breaking down his rifle. If he was quick, he could catch the guy on the roof. If not he would nail him as he left the building. He let go of the woman after looking at her sternly so she would stay put. She shrunk away from him and curled her arms around her legs as she cowered into the wall. The soldier didn’t have time to focus on her; he needed to get rid of the threat first. He unzipped his sniper bag and pulled out his rifle. He put the sniper rifle together with sure fingers, and without much thought. He watched the man as he hurried to finish packing up his gear. He placed the weapon against his shoulder, took a deep breath to center himself, and focused his eye through the scope at the other sniper. The man was running across the roof his back to the soldier. He was lucky the top of the other building was lower than the apartment they were in; otherwise, he would have lost the man. He aimed, took one more breath then shot.

He didn’t bother watching as his shot landed squarely in the middle of the back of the man’s head. He broke down the rifle, put it back in the bag, zipped it up. Grabbed the woman’s upper arm again and moved them out of the apartment and towards his own. He had left it unlocked. He slipped in with the woman stumbling behind him. He shoved her on the couch as he moved around the room. He made sure all his blinds were closed, the door was locked and deadbolted. The soldier made sure the trap was wired for the front door.

Once the soldier felt like his home base was secure, he allowed himself to relax a little. He finally let himself focus on the female. She was an average thing: average height, body type, with brown hair and brown eyes. She wouldn’t stick out in a crowd. She was wearing a thin tank top and tiny shorts that barely covered her rear let alone any leg.

She shivered, the Soldier wasn’t sure if it was from cold, or fear. He looked her over for injuries; he didn’t see much except a bruise forming on her right upper arm where he had grabbed her and another forming around her neck in the shape of fingertips that made him growl. He didn’t know why the mark around her neck bothered him so much, just that it did.

He stalked closer to her on silent feet. He noticed a dark smudge on the inside of her left thigh that drew his attention. He moved into her space ignoring the sounds she made in protest. He grabbed her knees and forced them apart so he could get a closer look at the mark.

He crouched down in front of her and leaned in to read the words. It was a name, James Buchanan Barnes. He moved his right hand down from her left knee onto her inner thigh. The name looked so familiar to him; he traced the letters with a light touch.

The woman whimpered. He looked up at her face and saw her biting at her lip and looking at him with wide, blown pupils. He let go of the woman and moved back almost stumbling; there was something about this woman that made him uneasy.

He couldn't stop thinking about that mark on her inner thigh, so close to her folds. It was hidden again since she had drawn her legs up once more to cover herself and make herself appear smaller. The soldier paced the room, considering his next options. She was obviously in danger meaning this place had been compromised. He needed to move them and soon. He looked at her and said stay in English; then he made his way in the bedroom to grab his bag. It had everything in it all ready to go. There wasn’t much else he needed. Most of his weapons were strapped to his body and the ones that weren’t, were easy to grab. He pulled the one gun out from where it was taped to the side of his nightstand between the bed and the nightstand. He moved into the kitchen where he could see the woman still shivering on the couch, due to the open floor plan. He pulled the knife from underneath the kitchen cabinet, then moved into the living room to grab the remaining taser from underneath the coffee table. He hadn’t bothered scattering more than those three weapons because he was usually armed to the teeth anyway. These three were just precautionary.

He didn’t bother to undo the traps he had set on all the window; it would just be another distraction for when whoever was chasing her combed this place. He looked over at the shivering waif, noticing, for the first time, she wasn’t wearing any shoes and not much clothing. That couldn’t be helped he didn’t trust going into her apartment, but he thought he had a spare long-sleeve shirt she could borrow until he felt they were safe enough to get her something else.

He grabbed his clothes bag, dug around inside until he spotted the worn grey shirt. He tossed it to her and grunted when she just stared at the fabric.

“Put it on,” he growled in English. He was in the U.S, so he assumed everyone spoke English here. They may have to leave the country, though he was hoping not. He had questions that needed answering, and those were in New York. The Dallas weather was warm enough for March that he wasn’t too worried about her being too cold, but the farther north they went, the colder it would get.

He watched expressionlessly as she fumbled the garment over her head. Once she had pulled it on, he grabbed her wrist in a gentle grip and tugged her towards the door. He undid the trap with sure fingers, slung his two bags over his shoulder, the rifle bag, and his travel bag. Then made his way down the hall to the stairs with the woman in tow. She hadn’t spoken since he had dragged her out of his apartment and he was grateful for her silence. It allowed him to concentrate on keeping them safe and listening for any dangers to either of them without being distracted.

They made their way down the stairs and to the main foyer of the building. It looked shabby and beat up, but the soldier paid it no mind. He dragged the woman to the front door then stopped so he could scan the street before putting them both out into the open. He was careful in his scanning efforts watching the city street with unblinking eyes. It may be one in the morning, but that didn’t mean people couldn’t be out and about. He didn’t want to put innocent bystanders at risk if he could help it.

He waited a solid five minutes in which the street remained quiet. The silence was peaceful, but the soldier was still on full alert. He grabbed the woman closer and swung her up into a fireman’s carry causing her to squeak as he exited the building quickly and made his way to the stolen vehicle he had purchased back in California. It was an average black SUV with darkly tinted windows. It currently had Illinois plates. The soldier opened the passenger side door, stuffing the woman inside before swinging around the hood and hopping into the front. He tossed his two bags gently onto the back seat, started the engine of the car and headed east out of the city.

He stayed on high alert throughout the time they traveled through the city. The soldier looked over at the woman every now and again to see her eyes slowly droop, and her head start to lean against the window. Her breathing had changed to that of sleep by the time they had left the city and made it onto interstate 20 headed east. They stayed on the interstate for roughly ten miles before he got off and did some backtracking. He then continued east through back roads until he reached a secluded spot where he could park the vehicle on a dirt road surrounded by trees somewhere in Louisiana. He had only stopped for gas once and paid in cash. He wanted to make sure they had a full tank if needed. He didn’t want to use the backup gasoline he had in two jugs in the back of the car if he didn’t have to just yet.

The woman was sleeping restlessly shivering and whimpering. The soldier wasn’t sure how to fix it. He didn’t have much in the way of comfortable things. But he did have a few blankets in the trunk from the winter. He got out of the vehicle and opened up the back so he could put the middle seats down and create a bed of sorts.

He made his way to the front passenger side opening the door carefully so he could support the girl while she slept. He reached in and picked up the woman bridal style. He carried her carefully, maneuvering her, so she was lying across the makeshift bed he had made with the almost empty trunk and folded down seats. He laid himself down beside her and wrapped her in blankets.

Her shivering continued. The soldier pulled her closer so that she was lying against him with her head pillowed on his chest. Her shivering finally stopped, and her breathing evened out into a deeper sleep.

The soldier stared at the ceiling of the car in confusion. He couldn’t explain his actions. Why the hell did he care if this woman was in danger or not? And why was that name on her inner thigh so familiar to him. The whole situation reminded him of that man he had pulled out of the river some months ago. That’s when he had gone rogue. Thinking about that man made his head hurt, so he didn’t like to do it very often. But sometimes late at night like it was now, his thoughts would slip in that direction. Those blue eyes and blonde hair, they were like the name, so familiar yet so out of reach.

The soldier finally allowed himself to doze, careful to not go too far under so he could still listen for any danger that could approach.

******

Lucy Elliot stirred, slowly coming back to herself. Her throat hurt, making it hard to draw in a breath. She moved carefully trying to figure out what woke her up. She opened her eyes blearily to see a broad chest and muscled arm in her vision.

She jerked back, sitting up. The blankets fell off her shoulder making her shiver. She pulled them back up and stared at the man lying in front of her. He had dark hair that fell into his eyes, a chiseled jawline covered in scruff, and a soft mouth that seemed to hold a perpetual snarl.

Lucy looked at her surroundings and noticed they were in a car in the back. It all started coming back to her. She would have groaned except she was terrified of waking this dangerous man up. She had watched as he had killed or seriously wounded three men with his bare hands, then shoot a sniper rifle out the window with enough casual finesse that she was sure he had killed another.

He didn’t talk much, nor did he seem to understand the boundaries of social norms from the way he had manhandled her. Lucy hadn’t despised his touch though, which said something. She had always had good instincts for people, And her gut was telling her she was safe with him.

The other men, however, she was kind of glad they were gone. Each one of them had made her skin crawl, and bile fill her mouth.

Besides the fear and adrenaline, Lucy just felt confused. What the hell was going on. She had gotten her mark two weeks ago at the age of 21 which was late by many people’s standards but not unheard of. She had proudly made her way down to the courthouse, skipping classes to present her mark so it could be recorded in the records like everyone else. She was now considered a full-fledged member of society and a full-grown woman. She was so proud, but then weird things had started happening. She felt eyes constantly watching her even though she couldn’t see anyone. A few times she had been followed when walking down the street and now this? It was all too much.

It had to have something to do with her mark. Her soul mate James Barnes would have a lot of explaining to do once she finally found him. What other reason would alter her life so much in such a short amount of time?

Now here she was in the back of a vehicle god knows where with a mad man. Could it get any worse? Lucy looked down at herself, remembering she was wearing booty shorts, cotton panties, a see-through tank top, and one of the mad man’s long sleeve shirts. She had no other clothes, no form of I.D, no money, and no answers. She was so totally screwed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky and Lucy get to know each other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MESSAGE ME ON TUMBLR!!!! HerOneOne  
> I LOVE COMMENTS, KUDOS, BOOKMARKS, SUBSCRIPTIONS, AND HITS.  
> Let me know what you think.  
> I own Lucy and the story, nothing else.  
> Don't like, don't read.  
> No triggers

The soldier watched the woman curiously as she assessed her surroundings. He had known the second she awoke but had not wanted to frighten her by moving. He wasn’t sure why it was so important that he didn’t scare her, just that it was. He didn’t bother trying to decipher the emotion. That always led to a headache, and very occasionally flashbacks. The flashbacks, however, were usually blurry, and unhelpful just leaving the soldier drained and with more questions.

He slowly sat up catching the woman’s attention as she backed up, pressing herself against the side of the vehicle. She said something, but it took the soldier a second to click in on actually listening and understanding what she was saying.

“Who are you?” she had asked. The soldier didn’t have an answer for her, so he just shrugged his shoulders at her.

“Where are we?” that one was easier.

“Somewhere in rural northern Louisiana.” His voice came out scratchy from lack of use. He didn’t talk to people very often. He found it much simpler to communicate through actions rather than words.

“What are we doing here?”

The soldier thought about that one for a minute before answering. “Staying safe.”

“How long are we staying here? I want to go home.” She seemed to be getting more and more upset with each question.

“Not long. You can’t go home. Home is not safe.” He was growling now. She would be in danger if she went home. He couldn’t allow that. He needed to keep her safe.

She was silent for a few minutes staring down at the blankets wrapped around her.

“Where are we going?” She finally asked in a weak voice.

“New York.”

“Why? What’s in New York?” She looked up at him, meeting his eyes.

“Answers,” he replied gruffly before getting out of the car and hopping into the driver’s seat.

He could just see the light of dawn sneaking in; meaning they needed to get back on the road. He started the engine with her still huddled in the back, covered in blankets. He turned on the heat and aimed vents her way, hoping to help warm her up. She needed clothes and a fake I.D.

He would stop somewhere in Mississippi at a Target or Walmart. But for now, he was itching to get moving again. Being in one place like this, after last night made him nervous.

He made his way onto Interstate 20 headed east. It wasn’t as safe as being on the back roads, but he wanted to put some miles between them and Dallas while being inconspicuous as possible. It was much easier to go 80 miles-per-hour on the interstate than on a back road highway.

She stayed silent and in the back for the first two hours. The soldier didn’t mind. He liked the quiet. It gave him time to plan. The group was just amateur enough that they probably had a good day or two’s head start from them. The soldier’s main concern was Hydra picking up on where he was. Once they reached Georgia, they could disappear for a few days and check to see if anyone had picked up on their trail.

He heard her clear her throat from behind him. He looked in his rearview mirror to meet her eyes.

“I need to use the bathroom.” she practically whimpered. He looked more closely to see her fidgeting uncomfortably.

He nodded his head to show he had heard her. He pulled off the interstate around Delhi Louisiana. He spotted a dollar general and pulled in.

“Stay here. I’m going to get you some shoes.” She nodded still squirming.

“I wear size 7s.”

He nodded grabbed a ball cap and a pair of sunglasses from his glove compartment. Made sure most of his weapons were hidden and made his way inside. He found some flip flops for a dollar, paid for them and quickly returned. He tossed them to her before pulling out and stopped at the Chevron just down the street that had an outdoor bathroom. He parked the car, and before he could move, she was out the door and sprinting for the bathroom. He moved almost as quickly to flank her. She was in the bathroom, closing and locking the door in a blink. He waited patiently outside while she used the necessity.

He clocked the area with his sweeping gaze. It was around nine thirty in the morning, so it was relatively busy with commuters stopping for gas on their way to work. He saw a few families leave, while a few more pulled up. He heard the tell-tale sign of the door unlocking behind him, and he turned to meet the woman’s eyes. He led her back to the car, which still had three-quarters of a tank. She climbed in the passenger seat closing the door behind her.

“Thanks.” She mumbled.

He nodded his head in response. He pulled back onto the interstate headed east towards Georgia. He saw her in the corner of his eye snatching glances at him.

“My name’s Lucy by the way.” She said.

A shiver ran down the soldier’s spine at the sound of her name. His eyes lost focus, the only thing that kept him from running the car off the road was his inhuman reflexes and his need to keep her safe. He would probably be able to walk away from an eighty mile-per-hour crash but she wouldn’t.

The name Lucy jarred something in him, and he staved off the flashback by shoving back all his emotions and focusing on just being a soldier. He had done it enough times over the last 70 years. It helped keep him away from the chair. Every time he tried to remember they would shove him in the chair, so he stopped bothering to remember.

He pulled off at the next exit and drove blindly down the road until he found a pull off point where he could stop the car without putting the woma-Lucy at risk. He shoved the door open and bent over his knees breathing hard. He finally allowed himself to feel all those emotions in a relatively safe place. He let his mind to be dragged back:

_ “Hey, Bucky you gonna show me or what?” _

_ A small boy stood in front of him with brilliant blue eyes and blond hair. He looked like a single strong gust could send him keeling over backward. He heard himself chuckle _

_ “Cool it Punk. It’s in a personal place I don’t show off all that much.” He said to the boy _

_ “Jerk. Come on Buck. You got your’s before mine I wanna see.” There was a whining note that had entered the kid’s tone. _

_ He heard himself sigh then looked down to lift his shirt and pull his pants down ever so slightly to reveal a mark. A name. It was right above his penis between his obleks and could be hidden mostly by the waistband of his pants. He couldn’t make out what it said just that it was there and he knew it was a name. _

_ He looked up to see the kid staring at it in awe. Th _ e  _ kid opened his mouth to speak _

Bucky was jerked back to the present by a hand on his right shoulder. From his bent over position, he looked up to see Lucy staring at him with worry in her eyes. He stumbled to the left away from her touch. He frantically lifted his shirt and pushed down his pants enough to stare at where the mark had been in his flashback. Where the mark had been, there was now a jagged scar cut into his flesh that obscured it. He could see the dark smudges that hinted at a name but were now unreadable. They had stolen his mark. Ripped the name of his soul mate from him and buried it in pain and scars. He was broken.

He heard a gasp and looked up to see Lucy covering her mouth with shock.

“How… how did this happen?” She almost whispered.

The soldier just shook his head and recovered his skin. He had forgotten that they had stolen his soul mate’s mark from him, and then they had tortured him with the chair until he forgot his soul mate’s name. They had destroyed not just his mind and body but also his soul.

He couldn’t take all these emotions he had to shut them off. He flipped the switch in his brain and allowed the soldier to take full control of his mind once more, burying the man he once was back down. It was too painful.

He focused back on the crucial things. They needed to get out of here. He had to protect Lucy. Answers could wait until they reached New York.

He looked over at Lucy and gestured for her to get back in the car so they could be back on the road. She climbed in, and he got them back on the interstate. About ten minutes after they had gotten on the interstate Lucy reached over and fiddled with the radio.

Soon he could hear the sounds of music filling the car. He grunted in surprise when she started to sing along.

“But this ain’t my first rodeo someone’s gonna get hurt-“

She looked over at his expression and grinned. She reached over and turned down the dial to the music.

“Bucked off by Brad Paisley,” she said as if that was an explanation.

He grunted back.

“I’m guessing you don’t listen to country.” She said.

“I don’t listen to music.” He replied.

She looked at him aghast, then started sputtering “but-but music is wonderful, how could you not?”

He shrugged again. “I wasn’t allowed to. It would distract from the mission, so I don’t.”

“Allowed by who?” She asked curiosity entering her voice.

“My handlers.”

“Well, are you on a mission now?”

The soldier had to think about that one. Yes, he was on a mission. But not one that had been assigned to by any handler. He had left that life behind, but it was still hard to think about that. It had only been three months.

“No” he finally replied.

“Great.” He glanced over to see her beaming at him.

She turned the radio back up and started singing along again but to a different song.

He listened to her voice. She sang slightly off-key, but her voice was still beautiful and captivating. It helped pass the time. She sang along for the next thirty minutes before she turned the radio down once more and glanced over at him.

He met her eyes before flicking them back to the road.

“Do you have a favorite genre of music?”

He grunted back.

“You should. Let’s find you one. I’ll keep switching the stations until you hear something you like.”

She turned the radio up and started flipping while she talked.

“I was listening to country, this station sounds like pop.”

The soldier listened for a second before shaking his head. He didn’t like the sounds. She flipped it again.

“Oh, this is gospel.”

He shook his head almost immediately. He didn’t want anything church-related. He didn’t deserve it.

The station changed again. The lilting sound of flutes and other wind instruments filled the vehicle. It was followed by strong percussion.

He could feel Lucy staring at him, waiting for him to nod or shake his head. He didn’t do either just listened. It sounded familiar like something from long ago.

A smile seemed to tug at the corner of his mouth with the familiar sounds. He could almost picture being wrapped in a warm hug in a beat up old apartment that smelled of delicious food and the constant strain of classical music cracking from the radio.

“So you’re a classical fan. That’s good to know.”

He just shrugged. He didn’t think he was a fan as much as it was familiar to him. It reminded him of a better time even though the memories were covered in a black haze of pain. The feelings still occasionally came through especially when there was a trigger. This is one of the better triggers, producing a happy thought rather than a knock-down-drag-out flashback, that left him soaked in sweat and shivering.

Lucy left the radio on as they drove the rest of the way to Jackson Mississippi. The made it there around 10:00 A.M.

Once they got there, the soldier made his way to a Walmart so they could pick up some clothes for Lucy and some food for the road. He wanted to get to Georgia and hidden somewhere where he could keep an eye out for anyone following them.

Lucy had fallen asleep at some point in the last thirty minutes. She blinked her eyes open slowly and looked around.

“Sooooo what are we doing in the parking lot of a Walmart?” She asked.

“Supplies,” he grunted at her before opening the car door and getting out. She followed sluggishly behind in her booty shorts, flip-flops, and his long sleeve shirt that hid her shorts when she stood up.

When she got up, she tucked the shirt into the front of her shorts, then walked beside him into Walmart.

The soldier hated being around this many people but they needed supplies, and this was the easiest and cheapest way to do it. It was also good to blend into a large crowd when they were in public.

The entered the super Walmart on the grocery side. The soldier placed a hand on the small of Lucy’s back and guided her towards women’s clothing.

“You need clothes,” he said when she gave him a questioning look.

She nodded at him then asked. “What are the limits” The soldier was pleased she didn’t argue.

“The minimum you can get by with for three weeks. If we need more, we will stop later. Don’t worry about the price. Stay safe, I’m going to get other supplies.”

The soldier was loathed to leave Lucy on her own, but he was more concerned about getting out of there as quickly as possible. He made his way around the store picking up camping bedding, toiletries, food, and other little necessities.

In the end, the cart was filled with:

  * Two sleeping bags
  * Ground Mat
  * Two camp pillows
  * A towel
  * A washcloth
  * A toothbrush (for Lucy, he had one stashed in his travel bag)
  * Toothpaste
  * A bar of soap
  * Female supplies (he wasn’t sure what to get, so he grabbed a random pack of pads and one of tampons)
  * Women's deodorant
  * Canned fruit
  * Box of granola bars
  * Water bottles
  * A soft suitcase
  * And a 6 pack of toilet paper



He made his way back to the women’s clothing section to find Lucy. He located her looking at socks. She had a group of clothing draped over her left arm as she grabbed a pack and turned around almost running into him. He instinctively reached out his hands and grabbed her upper arms to steady her. She made a squeaking noise and looked up at him.

“Oh, it’s you.” She said relieved. She looked past him to see the cart he had filled with their supplies. “That’s a lot of stuff.” She finally commented.

He grunted in acknowledgment before grabbing the items out of her arms and tossing them into the cart. He cataloged the items she had grabbed they included:

  * 3 pairs of jeans
  * 5 t-shirts
  * A sweatshirt
  * 3 pairs of black leggings
  * 2 packs of underwear (6 pairs in each)
  * 4 sports bras
  * 3 pairs of shorts
  * 3 tank tops
  * A rain jacket
  * And the bag of socks she had just grabbed (8 pairs)



He nodded his head in satisfaction at her choices. Good clothing for travel. She still needed shoes a winter coat, and a reliable pair of sweatpants wouldn’t go amiss. He wasn’t sure why he cared so much about her comfort, just that he did. If it was just him, he could get by on one pair of clothing and sleeping on the ground, but he wanted better for her.

He couldn’t spoil her, not with them being on the run but he could do better than just the bare minimum.

They moved quickly through the store grabbing her a pair of running shoes, a winter coat and a pair of sweatpants before checking out. He paid with cash and moved them to the car as quickly as possible.

They packed her clothing in the bag, except for a pair of jeans, t-shirt, sports bra, pair of socks, pair of undies, and the running shoes. They didn’t have time for her to change now but later down the road they would. They climbed in and got back on the road. They were at half a tank, but that could wait until they were farther down the road. The Walmart had cameras, and he was sure there was facial recognition software searching for his face everywhere, Hydra was relentless. He needed to get them as far away as possible and into a rural area where they could lay low and set up a protective perimeter to catch anyone tracking them.

He got them away from Jackson before backtracking down a side road or two before he got them somewhere in Alabama on a dirt back road before parking the car. In the middle of the woods by a creek.

It was around 7 pm by the time they stopped. About an hour after they had left Walmart, Lucy had fallen asleep. When the soldier turned off the car, the lack of noise must have disturbed her, because she slowly blinked her eyes open and sat up to look around.

“Where are we?” she asked sleepily as she rubbed her eyes.

“Somewhere near the Alabama and Georgia border. I’m not sure which side.” He spoke as he rolled his neck to get the kinks out of it after so much driving.

“Soooo I was thinking about this earlier but forgot to ask. Do you have a name or something I should call you by?” Lucy sounded hesitant.

He leaned back and thought about that. All he could remember being called was either the asset, the soldier, or the weapon. None of which he wanted to go by anymore. In the flashback he had had, the kid had called him Bucky. He rolled the name around his brain and sounded it out silently. He liked it. He wasn’t sure if it was a nickname he had had or his actual name, but it felt right.

“Bucky.” He rasped out finally. “I think I used to go by Bucky.”

“Bucky,” she repeated slowly testing it out as he had. She finally smiled and nodded. “I like it. It suits you.”

He wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so he didn’t. Instead, he focused on their surroundings and where he would set up some traps. Here was as good a place as any to catch anyone following them.

Bucky got out of the car and moved around it until he could open up the trunk. He pulled out the other bag in the car that he had left there weeks ago. He hadn’t needed to use it since moving into the apartment in Dallas, but it looked like he would need to now. He rummaged inside and pulled out the trip wire. He moved about 50 yards away from the car and started laying traps around the area. Some were made to trap while others would just set off a warning. They would only be staying the night, so he wasn’t too worried, but he’d preferred to be prepared. There was no one around for miles, meaning it would be challenging for them to sneak in the number of men they would need to take him down.

The whole process took him about thirty minutes, then he headed back to the car and Lucy. He found her sitting in the open trunk with her feet dangling about 4 inches from the ground. She had changed into jeans and a t-shirt, but her feet were still bare. She didn’t seem to notice him until he was about 3 feet away. She looked up with a blank expression, which was unusual for her. She always seemed so expressive. The blank look was more his thing than hers.

He wasn’t sure what to do so he just stood uncertainly about a foot away from her. She gave him a weary smile and patted the trunk next to her. He moved awkwardly toward her and sat beside her causing the whole car to shift under his weight.

He stiffened ever so slightly when she leaned her head against his left shoulder. No one did this. No one actively showed any form of physical contact that did not result in pain. He was used to the pain, knew how to process it. He didn’t know how to process this.

“I feel like I don’t know you very well Bucky. Can you tell me more about yourself?” She asked quietly.

He didn’t know how to respond to that, so he just stayed silent. She didn’t seem to mind though. Instead, she asked:

“Like how old are you?”

He didn’t actually know. He knew he was older than he looked if you ignored the scars riddling his body. But he didn’t know how old.

“Old.” He finally decided to say.

She snorted. “That’s not a good answer. I’m 21.”

He stayed silent. He was very confused by this female. She asked about strange things and did strange things. Didn’t she realize he was a monster?

“Ok how about an easier one. What’s your favorite color?”

That was an odd question to ask. Why did that even matter? Did he even have one? He liked blue.

“Blue, I guess?” He sounded uncertain even to his own ears. He almost wanted to cringe. He used to be better at this. That thought gave him pause. What did he use to be better at? And just like that, he was dragged down into another flashback:

_ “Why are you dragging me to this again?” He looked over to see the same blond haired, and blue eyed kid walking beside him kicking a can. _

_ “You know I need my best wingman Steve.” He heard himself say as he put his arm around the kid and pulled him in for a noogy. _

_ The kid pushed him off and glowered at him. _

_ “You just want me around Buck so you can have both ladies to yourself.” _

_ They stopped to stare at each other. The kid had his arm crossed over his chest and was glaring at him. _

_ “Steve you know just because I’m good with the ladies, doesn’t mean I don’t want you to find a girl. I’m here for you punk, what’d’ ya’ say?” _

_ The kid unfolded his arms and sighed in defeat. “Jerk,” he grumbled then gave a dazzling smile that lighted up his old face before punching Bucky and taking off at a sprint while Bucky chased him, laughing. _

He slowly came back to himself. He was still sitting on the edge of the open trunk and Lucy was leaning against the arm. She was silent while he shook his head trying to bring himself fully back to the present.

“You were out of it for a little bit there. What’s up?” she finally said in a calm, quiet voice that he greatly appreciated at that moment.

“A flashback I think,” he said rubbing the thumb and forefinger of his right hand on the bridge of his nose to try and stave off the headache that was building after the flashback.

She hummed then asked. “Tell me about it?”

“It's not really all that interesting.” he tried to deflect.

“Tell me anyway?” she asked.

There was no pressure in her voice just curiosity. He sighed deeply but for whatever reason decided to indulge her in this.

“I was with a…. friend I think. I called him Steve. I’ve seen him before in other flashbacks. Anyways we were talking about a double date I was dragging him to.”

“Sounds like a nice memory.” She stayed silent for a second before hesitantly forging ahead. “So I’ve kind of guessed this but just wondered if you could confirm. You don’t remember a lot of your life do you?”

He wooshed out a painful breath at her words. “No, I don’t,”

They were both quiet, she seemed satisfied with his answer, but he thought she deserved more of an explanation. Again he wasn’t sure why he felt so strongly about this, just that he did. His emotions had gone entirely out of control since meeting her. It had been so easy to stuff them down before he heard her scream.

“It’s...It’s painful to remember, so I don’t.” He finally said.

“I’m sorry it hurts so much. I wish there was something I could do to make it better.” She sounded sleepy.

He looked down to see that her eyes had closed and he head leaned more heavily against his metal arm. That metal arm contained very minimal feeling. Enough to know when something was touching it, but not the texture or how much pressure there was.

He had never wished for more feeling in that arm before now. He wanted to know what she felt like leaned against him. Even with his aversion to physical touch due to the expectation of pain, he knew subconsciously that her touch would never be painful.  

They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity and yet not enough time before she sighed and hopped off the trunk. He reached out and grabbed her before she could take a step though.

“You should be wearing shoes.” He said in explanation.

She looked down at her bare feet as if surprised that she wasn’t wearing shoes.

 

“Back home, I walked barefoot everywhere.”

“Where is home?” He asked curiously.

“Virginia. You?”

“Brooklyn.”

He was surprised at himself, he hadn’t known that until she asked but now that he thought about it he could see the streets of Brooklyn as he walked them with Steve. His friend, maybe even his best friend. The rest was still fuzzy. He had done enough soul searching for one day.

“Wait here, let me get you your shoes.”

She nodded in acquiescence as he made his way to the passenger side door of the front seat to grab the dollar store flip-flops. He brought them back and handed them to Lucy, she put them on and started walking away from the car.

“Where are you going?” He asked.

She froze, then turned to face him. She was wringing her hands and couldn’t meet his eyes. She looked nervous.

“I...I need to go to the bathroom.” she finally mumbled.

If it weren’t for his advanced hearing, he wouldn’t have heard her.

“I’ll show you where it’s safe. I left traps and here let me grab you some toilet paper.”

She gave him a small smile at that. He hurriedly searches through the bags until he was able to open up the toilet paper pack and grab her a role. He handed it to her as well as the flashlight he had tucked in the back too.

He gently grabbed her arm to help guide her so she wouldn’t trip about 20 feet from the car and behind a large oak tree. It blocked her view from the car, but that’s what she would want. Privacy was important. He understood that probably better than most people. He hadn’t privacy for years. Every little thing he did was watched like a hawk. From him using the bathroom, to his assassination shots. He was constantly under surveillance. You learned to tune it out and get over it. But he never wanted that for her. Any humiliation he could spare her he would.

He left her and headed back to the SUV, she didn’t need to know that his hearing was acute enough that he could pick up a fox moving through the underbrush thirty feet from them, let alone her movements. He would give her as much privacy as he possibly could while still keeping her safe.

He decided to set up the two sleeping bags in the back of the car with the pillows. He tried to make the makeshift bed look as inviting as possible despite its crudeness and his lack of ideas of what she would like. After that, he checked all his weapons on his body.

The inventory included five guns, nine knives, and two tasers currently. That was good enough, plus his sniper rifle. He grabbed his sniper bag out of the car and slung it over his shoulder. He had already spotted a good tree, that would give him an excellent view of the surrounding area while still keeping him close enough to the car that he could be to it in thirty seconds if need be. It was a little riskier than he liked, but the car was the safest place for her to be since he had changed the windows to bulletproof glass. If they fired a bazooka, the glass wouldn’t be able to stop it, but he would hopefully have drawn their fire, and/or killed the person beforehand.

Bucky heard her returning from the old oak. There was a slight spring in her step that hadn’t been there before. She beamed at him. He honestly did not understand Lucy at all. He wondered how she could still smile at him after what she had witnessed and what he had put her through over the last two days.

“Thanks,” she said when she was within speaking distance.

He grunted at that. He gestured toward the bed he had attempted to make for her. She smiled again, lighting up her eyes.

“Is this for me?” She whispered, sounding almost unbelieving.

He nodded, not trusting himself to speak with so much emotion filling the air. The fact that he had been able to make her happy filled him with a warmth that he hadn’t remembered feeling for a very long time. Not since before Hydra.

She climbed in, kicking off her flip-flops before she could get any dirt from their bottoms on the sleeping bags. She turned and looked back at him almost expectantly. He cocked his head in question.

“Aren’t you coming in too?” She asked unsureness covering her face and evident in her voice.

He shook his head. “I can better protect you from up there.” He pointed in the direction of the tree he had in mind.

She looked through the window at it, noticing that the lowest branch was about eight feet off the ground. She then looked back at Bucky.

“But Bucky what about sleep?” She asked.

“Don’t need it,” He said succinctly. He could go seventy-two hours without sleep. Granted it wasn’t exactly comfortable, but it was doable. Twenty-four hours was nothing. Their enemies were much more likely to attack in the dark than they were to attack during the day. As long as he grabbed a cat nap in the morning before they left he would be fine.

She gave him almost exasperated sigh and a look. It reminded him of how another person used to look at him, he just couldn’t quite remember who, and now was not a good time to go into flashback mode. He needed his wits about him. Especially with the night encroaching in on them fast.

He closed the back hatch of the car before she could say anything to contradict his decision or statement. Her safety was his top priority, not his health. He locked the car for good measure, then made his way on silent feet to the tree. He leaped with ease grabbing the lowest branch with his metal hand and using his momentum to swing himself up and into the branches. He scurried his way up with ease, finding a suitable perch that gave him an excellent view of the surrounding area.

He unpacked his rifle and put it together, cradling it in his arms like a child. This rifle had gotten him out of more than one tough spot. He trusted it more than he trusted people. Well, maybe not as much as that kid Steve that kept showing up in his memories.

He wondered yet again, why the kid was so important to him. And why that guy who dragged around the shield and was called Captain America drew him like a moth to a flame. He had thought about looking into the guy, but every time he tried thinking about Captain America too much he got a horrible headache that completely incapacitated him as his whole body rebelled from the pain.

He had been able to give himself time to adjust to other things before tackling that issue. But now, it couldn’t wait any longer. Not with Lucy. She had moved up his plan by months. He had wanted that time to ease himself into all those painful walls. Instead, he felt like his head was about to be smashed into the wall whether he liked it or not.

He heard movement coming from the left and lifted the rifle up to his shoulder and looked down the scope as he clocked the noise and repositioned himself in the branches. He spotted a herd of deer moving through the trees and grazing as they went. A few of the does’ were heavily pregnant, reminding him that spring was right around the corner. Not a bad thing.

He remembered liking spring and fall, but not summer or winter. Summer was too hot, and winter was…..

_ He was in a bedroom, in a run-down apartment. He looked down at a roughly 10-year-old Steve. He watched as Steve coughed violently, shaking not only his small form but the whole bed. Bucky rubbed a hand along his back while he sat beside the kid. He noticed that Steve was wrapped in a mound of blankets and Bucky’s own toes felt numb. He looked out the window to see heavy flakes of snow falling and building up on the apartment building across the alley. It wasn’t the best view, but it was the best Steve’s mom could afford on her own. _

_ He felt Steve shiver after the coughing fit, clutching the blankets around himself as tightly as possible. _

_ “B..b.bucky I..I’m s..ss...s.so cold” he heard Steve chatter. _

_ “I know punk. Hold on.” Bucky familiarly pulled the covers back from Steve and climbed under them wrapping his arms around the skinny kid. _

_ Steve continued to shiver, but he also snuggled into Bucky’s arms seeking the older kid’s warmth. Bucky held on tight until Steve stopped shaking and his labored breathing, lengthened into that is sleep. _

Bucky pulled himself out of the memory and shook his head, trying desperately to clear it. Now was not the time to be having flashbacks and regaining memories. Now it was about keeping Lucy safe.

He closed his eyes, laying his head back against the tree and opened up his other senses. Focusing more on smell and hearing.  

His hearing felt like it flowed out to encompass the space. He could hear the rustling of a mother mouse as she returned to her den to feed her hungry babies. A vole was sniffing at a tuner under the ground below his tree. He could hear the faint sound of digging below him.

His sense of smell did the same. He could smell the sweet scent of spring filling the air, a dead kill made by a predator on the wind. The scent was roughly a day old, so the body was probably stored somewhere by a fox or other predator.

He focused his senses back on the clearing, where the car was sitting. He could hear the vehicle rocking every now and again as it groaned ever so slightly. Lucy must be having difficulty getting comfortable.

He almost felt guilty about that, but he needed to shut down those emotions and become the soldier fully. He had one mission: to protect Lucy.

*******

Lucy shifted her body again. She was extremely grateful to Bucky for everything he had done for her, but this wasn’t something she was exactly used to. Her family never camped, or really went on vacations for that matter. Her dad was a farmer, and her mother was a nurse. Plus she was the youngest of four.

They didn't really have the money to afford to go on vacations. Not only was she not used to all this, but she was worried about Bucky. He was out all alone in the night sitting in a tree of all things. She had watched him through the window of the car as he flung himself up in the tree with a level of grace that seemed impossible for his bulk.

He definitely couldn’t be human, or not fully human, not with that move. But that raised the question of who was he? Lucy shook her head and buried her chin more thoroughly into the sleeping bag. She kept running into more questions than answers.

She thought back to the mark on her inner thigh. She had decided to not look up the name of her soulmate on the internet. She didn’t want to have a preconceived notion of who he was as a person before she met him. But now after everything that had happened. It seemed she needed to look it up whether she liked it or not. The only problem, she didn’t have access to a computer, phone, or other electronic devices that she could access the internet from.

Maybe they could stop at a library somewhere……

**********

Steve leaned back in his desk chair and rubbed his eyes. His neck felt tight, and it was hard for him to see straight after sitting at the computer for the last two hours. He wasn’t fully used to all this technology yet, but that was ok. Sam was supposed to arrive in the next 10 minutes or so to help.

There had been practically no word on Bucky for the last three months. Not since his once best friend had pulled him out of the Potomac.

Steve got up and stretched his large body, working out the kinks. His stomach growled, reminding him he hadn’t had dinner yet. He had been so caught up in research that he had forgotten to eat. This was unusual for him in normal circumstances, but looking for Bucky seemed to always take priority over everything else no matter what.

He heard a knock at his apartment door and quickly headed over to it, pulling it open, allowing Sam to enter.

“Hey man, how’s the search?” Sam asked as he slapped Steve on the back.

Steve just shook his head as he closed his apartment door and walked over to flop on the living room couch.

“Well then I’m glad I’m here because I have a lead,” Sam said, sounding casual.

Steve’s head had been resting against the back of the couch with his eyes closed, but at Sam’s words, he snapped upright and leaned forward intently seeing a smug look on Sam’s face.

Steve took the time to actually look at Sam. He wore his usual jeans and a nice shirt, but he held a folder in his hands that Steve hadn’t noticed before.

“Yea?” Steve asked, on edge with hope.

“Yea, turns out roughly two weeks ago someone registered a new soul mark name.”

Steve shrugged, “So? That happens all the time. Why does it matter?”

“Well, the name that was recorded is the interesting part. It was James Buchanan Barnes.”

Now Steve understood. He shot up from his seat and started pacing the apartment. He remembered the name Bucky had shown him all those years ago. How could he not? She was the soul mate to his best friend. Lucy Camille Elliot. The registration system was new though. It had been established in the 60s with the civil rights movement. For the civil rights groups, it was a way of showing that whites and blacks were equal. For the anti-civil rights groups, it was a way of finding the people that had racially different soul mates and label them as damaged and lock them up.

Bucky and his soul marks had never been registered. But having Bucky’s name show up was definitely an interesting development.

“What do you know about her?” Steve asked as he stopped pacing to lean against the arm of the couch.

Sam flipped open the folder and started reading from it. “Well, it looks like she’s 21, getting a degree in psychology and lives in Dallas.” Sam stopped speaking.

Steve looked at him and gave a raised eyebrow. Sam cleared his throat, hesitating.

“Tell me,” Steve said tensing.

“Well, I did some digging and found out that yesterday night her place was broken into. Two dead bodies were found in it, another was on the sidewalk below the window. It looked like he was tossed out of it. Also on the other side of the street. On the roof of a building was another dead guy. He was shot in the back of the head, and he was carrying a sniper rifle.

“It was big news in Dallas. The neighborhood, she was living in is used to gunshots and what not. Hence why it took so long for anyone to call it in or police to arrive on the scene. No one has seen or heard from her since. She is currently labeled as a missing person’s case.”

Steve had started pacing again, halfway through Sam talking. “Any evidence that Buck was there?” Steve asked.

“No confirmation, but what little I could get through my contacts, the kills were done be a professional, with a lot of skill and strength. A man’s windpipe was crushed by one hand. It could be him, Steve. But I don’t want you to get your hopes up. He may not even know that he has a soulmate anymore, not after what Hydra did to him.”

Steve nodded, knowing Sam was right. It was just so hard for him to feel helpless. He wanted to help Bucky. He wanted his best friend back.

“I’ll ask Stark if I can use the quinjet and we will head to Dallas in the morning. See if we can gather more information on site.” Steve paused before plopping back on the couch. “If it is Buck, then she’s in safe hands. Whether he knows she’s his soulmate or not. No one else can hide as well as he can. He’s the master of subterfuge.” Steve finished with a sigh.

“But he also would be taking care of Lucy. She doesn’t have his skills, making it more likely they would be spotted.” Sam added.

“Then we better hope we can get to them before anyone else if that does happen.”

Sam nodded before flinging the folder on the coffee table getting up and walking to the apartment door. “I’ll see you in the morning Cap,” Sam said as he closed the door behind him and headed for his own apartment across the hall in Avengers tower.

Steve picked up the folder that Sam had left him, opening it up. The first thing he saw was a picture of Lucy. She was dressed in a graduation gown and was holding up a diploma to the camera. She was average, brown hair, brown eyes. Nothing spectacular. But on closer inspection, Steve saw a twinkle in her eyes that lit up her smiling face. She looked the picture of innocence and happiness. He liked her, Steve decided.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have loved the responses I have been getting. One question I got that I want to answer is will Steve have a soulmate? The answer is a resounding YES. This will be part 1 of a series.  
> PLEASE COMMENT, KUDOS, BOOKMARK, AND SUBSCRIBE.  
> I will be updating this weekly, not sure what day yet.  
> don't like, don't read.

Bucky watched as rays of sunshine peeked through the trees. Dawn was always one of his favorite parts of a day on a mission. It was a piece of beauty that he could see that couldn’t be stolen from him. They could take his memories, his mind, his body, even his soul. But they couldn’t take this away.

Not the art of the natural world. He had grown to truly love nature under Hydra’s care. To be out in an open space and not caged underground somewhere like he was most of the time. He had escaped them and had no plans of going back.

But they had broken him. The question that remained was was he the kind of broken that could be fixed, or the one you threw in the trash. He had a feeling he might be the latter of the two. So with no way to redemption then why not end it?

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the side door of the SUV open and watched as Lucy scurried out of the car, toilet paper in hand. He couldn’t help but smile. She was a strange one.

She went behind the same oak as before. Bucky clocked the area making sure there was no threat to her when she was in such a vulnerable position. 

He heard her shuffling as she came back from around the tree and headed back to the car. She slowed before she reached and looked up into the tree he was in. 

She searched for him; he stayed perfectly still, curious if she would be able to spot him without the help of movement. She was perseverent though and finally did spot him. She waved and motioned toward the car. He gave her a nod. He wasn’t sure if she saw it or not, but she turned away and moved back to the car, climbing in. 

He checked the area once more, surprised that no one had shown up last night. He didn’t believe in luck which meant hydra might have a more elaborate plan they were putting in place. 

Bucky climbed down with smooth movements, dropping down from the eight foot high lowest branch landing with the quiet grace of a panther. 

He moved towards the car with his quiet natural stealth. He opened the back without thinking about it and heard Lucy squeak. He looked at her confused until he realized he could see her bare back. She was facing away from him clutching a blanket to her chest, to cover some of her nudity.

Bucky would have blushed, or been embarrassed except for the tattoo that covered her back. He put his knee on the floor of the trunk of the car and leaned forward unthinkingly to trace a finger down one of the folded wings she had on her back. They were angel wings that went from the top of her back all the way down to the dimple just above her ass. They were done in black and white and greys. They were highly detailed and accurate. The muscle definition at the attachment point between and slightly below her shoulder blades was exquisite. The elbow part of the wing was what brushed the top curve of her shoulders. He could almost picture the wings opening using that elbow joint to spread out and lift her aloft. The feathers then trailed down her back in an almost cascading waterfall effect. His fingers followed that waterfall all the way down to the last feather which ended at the curve of her ass. 

The sound of Lucy clearing her throat pulled Bucky out of his trance. He snatched his hand away as if it had been burned. 

“I guess you like my tattoo.” Her voice was hesitant from nerves at the somewhat awkward situation they were in. 

“It’s…” he was at a loss for words. 

When she turned to look at his face, he realized his silence had been too long. “It’s nice.” he finished lamely. He wanted to smack his forehead with his metal palm. What the fuck was that? The tattoo was much better than nice; it was breathtaking. He couldn’t figure out how he hadn’t noticed it before this moment. 

“Thanks,” she said after another awkward silence. “I got it when I graduated high school. My parents were very opposed but…..I always thought it would be cool to be able to fly under my own power. Part of that feeling came from not having a soul mark until just a couple weeks ago. It was my way of saying fuck you to the universe. If you don’t want to give me a soul mate that’s fine, I’ll just carry myself.”

He nodded in understanding. “It reminds me of a fallen angel.” he murmured.

“I never thought of myself as one, but I guess with all the trouble I’ve been causing the last few days, it makes sense.”

He grunted before turning his back to her. She deserved as much privacy as he could give while she changed.

He heard her shuffling on clothing behind him. He didn’t move until she was sitting beside him on the edge of the open trunk. He looked over to see she wore sweatpants and a t-shirt. The casual outfit looked good on her. 

“So what’s the plan?” She asked when he remained silent.

“Two-hour nap for me then we hit the road. Stay in the car while I sleep; it’s safer.” She nodded and climbed back in. 

“Bucky?” She asked tentatively, as he laid himself down in the makeshift bed, after closing the trunk.

He grunted to let her know he was listening. He closed his eyes and clasped his hands over his belly.

“Is there any way we could stop at a library or used book store at some point?”

He cracked an eye open and looked at her questioningly.

“It’s just kinda boring to be riding in a car all day.” She was fidgeting, moving restlessly on her knees, sitting about a foot from him. She had her hands clenched in her lap. She was holding them so tightly that her fingers had gone white. 

“We will be stopping in Atlanta for some things; we can find a used book store there.”

She unclenched her fingers and gave him a relieved smile.

He closed his eye again and resettled himself, instantly dropping into a light doze. 

*****  
Lucy watched from her kneeling position by the left side door as Bucky almost immediately fell asleep. It was astounding. She could never do that. 

Last night she had tossed and turned the whole night, unable to really get comfortable or block out the idea that they could be attacked at any moment. She had finally fallen asleep due to sheer exhaustion, in the end getting maybe 2 hours of sleep in total. 

Lucy rested her head back against the window and looked out at the forest. If this whole thing weren’t so terrifying, she would have genuinely been able to appreciate the beauty around them. It was gorgeous watching the morning light shine through the trees. It perfectly showcased the fresh dew that had accumulated on the grass overnight. But this wasn’t a leisurely vacation. They were both in a life or death situation. 

Lucy looked back at Bucky; she had so many questions about him. He had swept in like an avenging angel and rescued her, and yet it appeared that he knew nothing about himself. 

What struck her the most was when he said that he thought he used to go by Bucky. And that scar where his soul mark had been. Someone had hurt him badly.

Soul marks were considered sacred. It showed your bond with another person. The registry was new, but it helped connect soulmates and helped prevent the horrible cases of being without your soulmate because you couldn’t find them. 

Depending on how powerful one’s bond was with their soulmate if one died, the other followed within minutes. There were even cases of soulmates who had never met, dying at almost the same time. They were rare, but they did happen. Lucy’s romantic side had always thought of it as tragically romantic. But now, she wasn’t so sure. 

She felt sorry for whoever Bucky’s soulmate was. How horrible it would be for your name to be ripped away from your soul mates body. How did you confirm that you were indeed each other’s soulmate? How did you help a soulmate who was so…broken? 

Lucy’s thoughts chased each other around in her head, always ending with the fact that she didn’t have enough information, nor brainpower to think about this right now.

He had said there would be answers in New York of all places. She could roll with that. It was a long drive from here to there, but maybe she could take this time to get to know Bucky, as a person. Help him, and help herself. 

He would be an interesting test of her psychology knowledge if nothing else. But he felt like more than that. 

Lucy shook off her odd thoughts and curled up with her back almost touching Bucky. She felt better being close to him with the risk of danger coming at any second. She heard him sigh and then felt him curl around her, tucking her into the safety of his.

*****

Clint piloted the quinjet, Sam sat contentedly in the co-pilot seat playing on his phone, and Steve paced in the back.

Sam had given up trying to tell Steve to sit down a while ago. Steve wasn’t in the mood to listen to reason; he was too hopped up on the need to get any substantial lead on Bucky.

He completely ignored Sam telling him multiple times that it might not be his best friend and stayed tense and hopeful. So Sam had decided to spend his time doing something better than metaphorically beating his head against a wall, and work on some VA planning and scheduling on his phone. 

Clint signaled to Sam that they would be landing within the next 15 minutes. Sam sighed and put his phone away. He stretched his back, hearing it crack and pop. Sam sighed in relief and headed to the back of the quinjet to tell Steve. He found the man shifting his shield from arm to arm with impatient fingers and walking in a tight circle. For a giant man, Steve could move with a lot of grace. 

Sam cleared his throat, just to make sure Steve knew he was there. He wasn’t sure how much his friend was in his head versus focused on his surrounding him. War veterans had a habit of not reacting well when startled, and Steve was no different. 

The only time Sam had made the mistake ended up with him pressed up against a wall, with a forearm against his throat, followed by a guilt-ridden Steve following him around and constantly apologizing for the next three weeks. Not something he felt like repeating. 

Steve froze, and his head flew up to meet Sam’s eyes. He didn’t say anything, but all his attention was focused on Sam.

“We’ll be landing in 15 Cap. The airport is called Dallas Executive Airport-RBD, and it's about 10 minutes from Lucy’s apartment building. It’s… a rough part of town.” Sam told him.

Steve nodded in understanding. Sam walked back up to the cockpit and sat back down beside Clint. Clint looked over at him and smirked. 

“Yea, yea I know. When we get there, you get to babysit him while I gather info. If Steve gets involved, he’ll probably scare the poor police force and any investigators they have involved.”

Clint’s smirk disappeared, and he sighed. “Fine but you owe me one,” he said pointing a finger at Sam. 

“You got it,” Sam said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

*****

Steve could hear Sam and Clint talking about him but didn’t comment. They weren’t wrong, and it also tightened their bonds as teammates, which was productive for all the Avengers. Sure it made him look less in control of himself when it came to Bucky, but if he was honest with himself. When it came to Bucky, he had little to no control of himself. 

There was so much built up guilt, first for not being able to save Bucky from falling in the first place and then not going back to look for him. Hydra had tortured Bucky for over 70 years, and it was his fault. He was responsible for what had happened to his best friend. So it was also his responsibility to do everything in his power to fix it. 

All of this made Steve feel very out of control when he was used to being cool and collected on missions. Not emotional and stressed about what they might find. He felt it as the plan engaged it’s landing procedure. He tensed up once again, then forced his muscles to relax. He would let Sam take point when talking to the investigators, but he knew Bucky the best, so he would be the one searching for evidence of his best friend’s presence.

The plane landed. Steve lifted the shield and placed it against the magnetic hook on his back so that it was secure. He waited for the back hatch of the quinjet to open and allow him to exit the plane and start his search. Steve was impatient. He was tired of waiting; he had waited for years to help his friend. He wasn’t going to wait any more than he already had. Not if he could help it. 

The quinjet’s slow lowering mechanism for the back hatch did not help with his impatience. When there was finally enough room for his large frame to make it through, he headed out, not caring that the ramp was still lowering. He knew the address. He knew where he was going. He left Clint and Sam in the dust as he made his way quickly to the apartment building. 

If this hadn’t been a murder scene, then their small troop would be wearing street clothes and attempting to blend in, but for this mission, they needed the access that the uniform would provide. Steve made his way out of the airport, showing with his quick steps and serious face that he was on a mission and did not have time to stop. 

He got looks. He knew he would; he was Captain America; there weren’t many places he could go without getting noticed even if he was out of the uniform. It was easier to blend in outside New York City because people weren’t expecting to see him, but it didn’t always work. 

He made his way out into the city and headed towards the address. Some people took photos of him, but he ignored it. Jarvis would wipe any of the devices if there were a problem. 

Steve was not techno-savvy. He had no idea how Jarvis, phones, computers, or the internet worked. He just knew that they did and that was fine by him. He would leave the tech to Tony. He preferred doing things the old fashioned way.

Steve made it to the apartment complex in record time and entered. He made his way up the stairs and located Lucy’s apartment. There was a young cop standing outside the apartment, looking bored as he guarded the door covered in yellow police tape. He didn’t notice Steve until the captain was about 5 feet away. The kid looked up and his face blanched. His mouth gaped open as he stared. Steve just kept moving forward until he was standing in front of the kid.

“The Avengers are taking over this case,” Steve told him before pulling the tape off the door frame and walking into the apartment. He would have opened the door except it was dangling, broken, from its hinges. 

The bodies had been removed, but that was ok, they would see them later. Right now Steve wanted to focus on the crime scene itself. Get a feel for how things went down. White outlines were marking where the bodies had lain and what position they had been in. There were two in the room, both by the door. The third had been tossed out the window. He didn’t see many glass shards on the floor of the apartment meaning the window had been broken from the inside.

Steve moved around the room. It was hard to tell what happened fully without knowing what injuries were sustained by the individuals, but Steve could tell the place looked surprisingly clean. The door, the window, and a few bullet holes were the only signs of destruction. The bullet holes were interesting. They weren’t that deep on inspection. The bullets had been removed but based on what Steve could see these were all ricochets. Good news for this being Bucky. 

Steve heard footsteps behind him and saw Clint entering the room. Steve returned to his exploration of the place. 

“It looks like the body closest to the door was killed by his neck being snapped by being hit in the face by something with inhuman strength. The second had his throat collapsed by a hand of some sort. All of this is based on the Coroners report that sam just sent to me.” Clint said, scanning his phone.

“All of which points to this being Bucky. I want to see the other apartment that was broken into, as well as find out if any other apartments are empty in this building.” Steve replied, looking out the broken window at the white outline of a body on the sidewalk below.

“I’ll ask Sam to call the owners of the apartment building to find that out. The apartment that also has a broken door and window is 10C. A floor above us.” Clint said, before tucking his phone away and scanning the apartment.

Steve left him to it. He was curious about the other apartment. No bodies had been found in there, but the window had been left open, and the door was broken in.

He made his way up the stairs and into the hallway. He saw the yellow police tape and headed in that direction. The door didn’t give him much information; it wasn’t hard to break open doors with human strength; a well-placed kick or shoulder would do. Steve was much more focused on the window. He ducked under the tape and moved through the room. He located the window and stood in front of it. It gave him a clear line of sight to the roof on the other side of the street, where he could see another white outline of a body.

This looked like more confirmation of Bucky, but they could never be 100 percent sure with irrefutable proof, like a picture. 

Steve pulled out his phone and spoke towards it. “Jarvis?”

“Here as always Captain Rogers.” The disembodied voice of Jarvis replied.

It made Steve smile. For a computer, Jarvis had a very distinct personality. 

“Please scan all the cameras within a half a mile radius for any visual on Barnes.”

“Of course Captain Rogers,” was the quick response.

Steve tucked his phone away and went back down to the first apartment to meet Clint. He met Clint at the door.

“What’s your assessment?” He asked the master assassin. 

“Whoever did this was good. Very good. No blood except for the guy with the broken neck. And very little damage to anything else. The attack was made efficiently. Any word on the girl?”

Steve shook his head. “Her college friend, Stacy was the first one to call her in after she couldn’t reach her for 24 hours. By that time they already knew her apartment had been broken into. Lucy’s wallet, keys, phone and any other form of identification were found here.”

“So she’s on the run and deep undercover.” Clint hypothesized. 

“It looks like it,” Steve confirmed. “The only problem is there is nothing, anywhere in her record to show that she had either the training or any skill in running.” 

“So your guessing she’s with Bucky?” Clint asked.

Steve shrugged. “I hope she is. Maybe he saved her and then just left her and she ran. I honestly don’t know. I can’t predict what he will do anymore. I have assumptions, guesses, and hopes. But that’s about it.”

Clint moved forward and clapped Steve on the back, gripping his shoulder in a brief, comforting squeeze at the end before letting go. “We’ll find them.” He said reassuringly. 

Steve sighed then nodded his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! let me know what you thought.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky and Lucy on the run again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am addicted to this story, and I'm the one writing it!  
> All mistakes and Lucy are my own.  
> PLEASE COMMENT, KUDOS, SUBSCRIBE, BOOKMARK.  
> I LOVE HEARING FROM READERS!!!!!  
> Don't like, don't read  
> expected amount of violence.

Lucy woke up with a start, she made to move and speak, but a hand covered her mouth keeping her quiet. She looked up with fearful eyes to see Bucky crouching above her. He was in a push-up stance with his arms on either side of his head and his legs covering hers. He kept his weight off of her and wasn’t really touching her, except for the hand over her mouth, but he was within a hair's breadth. Every time she took in a breath of air, her breasts brushed against his muscled chest. 

 

Bucky wasn’t looking at her; he was scanning the windows of the car, looking for something. 

 

Lucy’s heart rate picked up, and she couldn’t help the slight whimper of fear that escaped her mouth and was muffled by Bucky’s hand. His eyes flicked down to her face then went back to scanning. He lowered his body another inch until his form was against hers. From chest down to knees. He wasn’t heavy because he was still holding his weight, but the comfort of his body over hers helped ease some of her fear. 

 

Lucy’s hands crept up from where they lay at her sides, moving slowly so as not to make a sound. She pushed them between Bucky and her own body until she could center them between their chests. She lay one against his heart. She felt the steady, unhurried pound of his heart. 

 

If Bucky was this relaxed, she could be too. She closed her eyes and sucked in a long breath through her nose, filling herself with air. She then released it in a slow stream letting all her tension exit with the exhale. 

 

She needed to trust Bucky. 

 

******

 

Bucky felt Lucy relax under him. He was impressed by her ability to let go of her tension when there was obvious danger around. She was alert but not in fight or flight like she had been a minute ago. His eyes stayed focused on the man walking through the woods roughly thirty yards away.

 

He looked like an innocent fisherman, headed towards the creek, but Bucky knew better. He would have been alerted by one of his traps. This man had crept up silent as a mouse. His one mistake was the fishing gear itself. It made him bulkier, which meant he brushed up against a few trees on his way through causing the bark to fall. Bucky had woken within an instant upon hearing the first tumble of bark. He had rolled instinctively on top of Lucy, shielding her from view. She had been woken up by his movement.

 

His right hand still covered her mouth in a light grip. It was his only way of signaling to her that she needed to be absolutely quiet. Her hands moving had worried him, but she had done so silently and pulled them, so they were resting against his chest. If he wasn’t so focused on keeping them alive, he might have taken a trip down memory lane to remember the last time he had been on top of a dam. 

 

Bucky watched as the “fisherman” made his way closer and closer to the vehicle. To the untrained eye, it looked like he was just meandering, but Bucky could see the purposeful way he put as many trees as possible between himself and the SUV as he moved.

 

Bucky removed his right hand from around Lucy’s mouth and inched it down his side to grab the handgun in his side holster. He pulled it out carefully and lifted his body enough to hand it to Lucy. Lucy took it with shaking fingers. He put his finger to her lips before grabbing another handgun out of his shoulder holster. He flipped the safety off as he moved. Bucky shifted slowly off of her making sure to keep Lucy shielded by his body from the attacker. 

 

There was no way to exit the car without making noise, meaning Bucky would have to be quick. He looked behind him and signaled Lucy to move towards the back of the vehicle and stay low. She shimmied her way back holding the gun like it was a bomb. He would have to teach her how to shoot after this danger was gone.

 

He moved towards the right-hand side door, the same side the fake fisherman was on. The assailant was only ten yards away. 

 

Bucky got in position, then moved like lightning. He popped the door open and fired. The man ducked behind a tree, but Bucky had been expecting that so he flung himself out of the car and rolled. He pulled himself up into a crouching position again that put him at a different angle to the tree and fired again. The bullet hit; right between that man’s eyes. This all took about 5 seconds. 

 

He didn’t stop to look at the body, where there was one, there were always more. Bucky slammed the side door shut, leaped over the hood and jumped into the driver seat. He started the car and took off. He looked in the rearview mirror to see Lucy lying on the floor of the trunk shivering. He didn’t have time to comfort her right now. She would have to console herself this time. Bucky’s stomach flipped in guilt that he couldn’t do more. 

 

He shook off the feeling and focused on keeping them alive, that was more important. 

 

He tore down the back roads, spitting dirt and gravel. He moved the car with precision and skill, keeping the vehicle under control even at 70 miles-per-hour on gravel. 

 

The made it onto asphalt and Bucky pushed his foot down harder on the gas pedal. They roared down the road at close to 110 mph. Bucky swerved past cars, receiving honks but he didn’t care. He wanted to put distance between them and any pursuers first. Then he would blend in. 

 

Within thirty minutes of twists and turns, Bucky got them back on the highway and slowed down a little. He kept moving but didn’t drive as recklessly as before. 

 

*****

 

Lucy slowly sat up once they were on the highway and moved towards the front. With shaking fingers, she carefully set the gun on the front seat. 

 

She had grown up in a redneck community, so she was not unfamiliar with people owning guns, but she had never held a gun before. Her father didn’t believe in owning them, not after her grandfather’s experience in the Vietnam war. She put up one of the seats in the back and sat in it with a heavy sigh. Her body was still trembling with adrenalin. 

 

Lucy had been terrified that Bucky would be harmed or killed. Surprisingly she hadn’t been worried about herself. If Bucky had been injured trying to protect her, she would never forgive herself. Now wasn’t that an interesting thought. 

 

She couldn’t figure out why she cared so much for his well being just that she did. 

 

Lucy looked up when she felt the car slow down. She saw that Bucky was pulling off of the highway. He pulled into a gas station and got out. Lucy stayed where she was. Lucy heard the click of the gas and heard the car start to fill up. She wasn’t looking though, just staring straight ahead. 

 

She was surprised when the door next to her popped open. Lucy looked up into Bucky’s face. He tentatively held his arms out to her, and she took the offered gesture. She got shakily out of the car and allowed him to wrap his arms around her and hold her to him. She buried her nose in his chest, taking in his scent. 

 

A few tears fell from her eyes, but he didn’t seem to notice, or, if he did, care that she was getting his shirt wet. He just held on until the pump clicked off. He let go and pulled it out before tucking Lucy in the front seat. She noticed the gun was gone and was very thankful Bucky had moved it. 

 

Bucky got back in the driver seat, and they were off again. After about half an hour of driving in silence, Lucy couldn’t take it anymore and turned on the radio.

 

She found a pop station, the music wasn’t her favorite, but it was useful for distracting her. She listened as Selena Gomez sang the chorus to “Can’t Keep My Hands to Myself.” 

 

Lucy closed her eyes and started to sing along. It wasn’t her favorite song by any means, but it was a good distraction song. It was bouncy and fun, even though it was entirely focused on sex. 

 

Her singing was interrupted when the radio was turned off suddenly. She looked over to see Bucky scowling at the road, his hands clenched around the steering wheel. 

 

“Bucky?” Lucy asked hesitantly.

 

She watched as his hands tightened even more around the steering wheel making it groan under his unbelievable strength. Lucy tentatively reached out a hand and placed it on his arm. She had never seen him like this. He glanced over at her, then back to the road. 

 

“I……..Just don’t like the song,” he growled out.

 

Lucy was startled by that. She hadn’t expected a sexy song like that to make him so…..angry. 

 

“Why don’t we find a classical station then?” she asked trying to lighten the mood. 

 

Bucky’s grip noticeably loosened on the steering wheel and he nodded his head.

 

Lucy flipped the radio back on and started skimming. They made it through all the radio stations without finding a single classical one. Lucy sighed internally, frustrated. She flipped through the channels again. No luck. 

 

Bucky glanced over at her when she made an external sigh of frustration.

 

“I can’t find a classical station.” She said in explanation. “If I had my phone we could just use Spotify and listen to whatever we wanted to” She turned off the radio and crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back in her seat.

 

“what’s Spotify?” Bucky asked. 

 

“Oh, it’s a music app,” Lucy said in explanation. 

 

She looked over to see his brows furrowing. “Ummmmm it’s like a program you can download on your phone that lets you play music.” Lucy tried to elaborate, even though she knew very little about how computers and technology worked. She knew enough to use it but called her tech-savvy friends when things broke.

 

Bucky grunted in acknowledgment. He seemed to do that a lot. She wondered if he used to be a talker before whatever horrible things had happened to him. She still shuddered every time she thought about that scar where his soul mark had once been. 

 

Those experiences of trauma would change anyone, and the fact that he survived showed just how strong of a person Bucky was. 

 

They sat in silence for another 10 minutes before Lucy couldn’t take it anymore. 

 

“Can we talk?” She abruptly asked.

 

Bucky’s eyes glanced over at her again before flicking back to the road. 

 

“I’m just not so great with silence.” She explained when he didn’t respond. 

 

He grunted in response. 

 

“Oh, we could play a game, like 20 questions?” Lucy said excitedly. She had always loved playing road trip games.

 

She looked over a Bucky hopefully. He flicked his eyes towards her again, his brow furrowing. Lucy recognized it as his face of confusion. 

 

“I think of something, and then you ask yes or no questions until you can guess what it is.” She explained.

 

Bucky grunted. Lucy was getting a little tired of just getting grunts. It made it very hard to hold a conversation when someone just grunted at you. 

 

“Or you can think of something, and I can ask questions. One grunt for yes, two grunts for no.” Lucy said, a teasing note entering her voice. 

 

Bucky was always so tense. It made sense in these life or death situations, but it made it hard for her to not stay in a state of constant panic. Humor was one of her best defense mechanisms.

 

Lucy watched triumphantly as Bucky’s lips twitched into the smallest of smiles before returning to his stoic expression. 

 

“We can even narrow it and just do animals to start, then get broader,” Lucy said getting excited by the idea.

 

“Ok,” Bucky replied.

 

“Really?!” Lucy said, disbelief covering her voice. She didn’t think he would agree. She was hopeful but for him to say yes was beyond her wildest dreams.

 

That smile was back on Bucky’s lips. “Yes,” he confirmed. 

 

“Do you want to go first?” Lucy asked.

 

Bucky grunted once, then twitched his lips into a bigger smile.

 

“I’ll take that as a yes,” she replied, a smile spreading across her face.

 

For the next hour, they played twenty questions. Lucy was much better at the game than Bucky, but she didn’t mind. It was just nice to have a distraction. She could pretend, if only for a little bit that they weren’t fleeing for their lives, and instead were on vacation. 

 

However naive thinking can’t last. Lucy was jerked back to reality when Bucky flung a hand over her mouth while she was trying to guess his next animal. 

 

She shut up immediately and looked over at Bucky with fearful eyes. He wasn’t looking at her; instead, he was staring in the rearview mirror. 

Lucy turned her head with trepidation to look behind them. She saw two black SUVs with black tinted windows close on their heels. Lucy gulped and turned to look back at Bucky. His face was an expressionless mask, as he started to weave through traffic, gaining speed. 

 

He maneuvered the car flawlessly with incredible skill. Lucy considered herself a good driver, but she could never do what he did. He squeezed through gaps between moving cars that she thought were impossible. He put a steady distance between them and the scary black SUVs behind them. 

 

Lucy was a little confused why they didn’t just shoot at their car or something. Or maybe flash some siren noises. With how they were able to track them, the group that was chasing them had to be filthy rich and connected. She had to ask Bucky.

 

“Why aren’t they shooting at us or anything?” 

 

Bucky just shook his head at the question. It looked like he wasn’t sure either. That wasn’t helping Lucy feel more comfortable. 

 

“We need to get off the highway,” Bucky grunted at her before he swerved the car viciously to go from the left lane of the two-lane road to an off-ramp on the right-hand side. Lucy gripped the seat with white fingers, as the swerving caused them almost to cut off a giant semi-truck. They made it, but Lucy’s heart rate would never be the same. 

 

Lucy looked back over at the highway to see the two black SUVs still speeding down the road. She sighed in relief and slumped back in her seat. 

 

“I think we lost them,” she said to Bucky.

 

“Not likely,” Bucky growled. “Look.”

 

Lucy did. She saw another black SUV following them off the highway. 

 

“There's always a rear car,” Bucky said, as he yanked the wheel to the right viciously and had them skidding down a back road. “Luce, I need you to open up the glove box for me,” Bucky added.

 

Luce. She liked the nickname. She leaned forward and opened the glove box, and watched as a handgun slid to the front of the glove box into her line of site. 

 

“Take out the gun.” Bucky directed, his voice surprisingly calm while an SUV was chasing them. 

 

Lucy’s hands shook as she reached in and pulled the gun out. She looked up at Bucky waiting for his next set of instructions. 

 

“Undo your seatbelt, open your window and click off the safety. The car will most likely be armored, so I want you to aim for the front wheels.” Bucky spoke coolly.

 

“You want me to shoot at them!?” Lucy practically squeaked.

 

“Yes. I can’t drive, shoot, and keep us safe. I’d survive a crash you wouldn’t.” Bucky answered.

 

“Okay.” Lucy drew in a shaky breath and undid her seatbelt. Next, she hit the button to roll down the window. She maneuvered her body, so her head and shoulders were outside the window and facing towards the back of the vehicle.

 

A hand grabbed her shirt and tugged her back. 

 

“Not so far out. If they start firing back, you will easily be hit.” He explained.

 

“Oh ok,” Lucy said. She had no idea what she was doing. 

 

She looked down at the handgun clutched in her shaking fingers. She had no idea how to correctly hold it, how to fire it, how to turn off the safety, nothing. 

 

“Ummm Bucky?” Lucy asked hesitantly. Her back was resting against the dashboard, and her feet and legs were folded on the seat while she faced the back of the vehicle. 

 

“Yea?” Bucky asked as he swerved around a corner.

 

“How do I turn off the safety?” She asked staring at the gun in her hands. 

 

Bucky reached over and flicked something on the back of the gun. 

 

“That’s the safety; it’s now off.” He said putting his hand back on the wheel and swinging them around another curve. 

 

“Ok so if I touch the trigger, this thing goes boom?”

 

She heard a surprised chuckle and looked over to see Bucky...smiling. That was a little disconcerting. She didn’t expect to see someone smiling during a life or death car chase. 

 

Lucy flicked the safety back on, just in case while she repositioned herself. She leaned out of the window only slightly. She clutched the gun in her hands and pointed it at the SUV hot on their tail. Her hands bounced with the movement of the vehicle, but she tried her best to keep her them steady. She was unsure how to hold it, so she guessed based on the crime shows she binged watched while writing papers.

 

Two hands on the handle and one finger on the piece in front of the trigger. Lucy flicked off the safety and put her trigger finger against the trigger but was very careful not to push down. 

 

She aimed as best she could and fired. The shot went wide. She was startled both by the recoil and the sound of the gun, so much so she almost dropped it. 

 

Lucy held onto the gun and readjusted her grip. She aimed again and fired. This time she hit the front bumper and heard a pinging sound. She was getting closer that was a form of success to her. 

 

****

 

While Lucy was trying to figure out what it really meant to ride shotgun, Bucky was doing his best to keep them ahead of their followers and not send Lucy flying out the window she was precariously leaning out of. 

 

At least she wasn’t sticking her whole torso out the window as she had been before. 

 

He wasn’t sure who was following them. If it had been Hydra, they would have had no problem firing on them while they were on the highway. Even with Lucy shooting at them, they hadn’t fired back.

 

Bucky feared that they might be being driven somewhere by their followers. They didn’t have the resources they would need to deal with being forced into a trap. 

 

He needed to do the unexpected, see if he could shake them off. Even if it meant having to go south, instead of north like he wanted. They could always hop on a boat, or steal one.

 

Bucky saw a backroad coming up that lead to a house if he could just maneuver the car around the house and get on a different back road they might just be in the clear.

 

He used his flesh hand to grab onto the back of Lucy’s shirt and hold onto her while he used his left hand to yank the wheel to the right, shooting them down the driveway. He used the four wheel drive to get them across the field behind the yellow farmhouse and put them back on a dirt road. 

 

He knew he had torn the grass and left noticeable marks on the land around the farmhouse. Part of him thought that he should feel bad for causing damage to another person’s property, but mostly he was worried about keeping them alive and unharmed.

 

He made his way back north towards the highway. If he could get on it then maybe they cou-

 

His trail of thoughts was interrupted when he heard gunshots from behind them. He reached over without thinking and yanked Lucy back into the car. She yelped, but at least she wasn’t riddled with bullets as more gunfire sounded behind them. He let go of her long enough to flick the safety on her gun and close her window before pushing her head down. He heard her grumble, but he couldn’t focus on what she was saying. He was much more worried about keeping her alive than happy. The shots came in earnest now causing cracks to form on his back window. 

 

He was so grateful he had put flaps on the car that covered their back tires. A lucky or very skilled shot could still hit them, but most of the shots would fall, if not harmlessly, at least with minimum damage elsewhere on the vehicle. 

 

More and more shots landed on the back window, causing a spider web effect to form on the glass. It wouldn’t last much longer. 

 

He must have upset their plans for them to resort to shooting at them. He looked back to notice that the hood of their vehicle was smoking. 

 

He wondered idly if Lucy had hit the engine somehow. Well, he would take the advantage it gave him. He pushed the car harder. He was now up to 90 miles an hour on a partial straight away. A sharp curve was coming up, he slowed down and used all of his driving skill to drift around the turn and then accelerate the car again. 

 

The SUV attempted the same move but the wheels lost their traction, and the vehicle was sent careening into the guard rail. 

 

Bucky heard a whoop from beside him and glanced down to see Lucy facing the back. She must have been watching. He quickly focused his eyes back on the road and made his way back towards the highway. 

 

They wouldn’t expect him to return to such a crowded area so soon, giving them at least a little cover, plus they wouldn’t be so conspicuous going at fast speeds on the highway. 

 

They needed to get somewhere safe where they could hide, and soon. They needed to ditch the car.

 

One problem, he wasn’t sure where they were. 

 

“Luce, look in the glove box again and pull out the road map. Find out where we are for me.” Bucky said distractedly, while he took signs to get them back on a major highway. 

 

He wasn’t sure where the nickname had come from, but he liked using it a lot. It suited her and just flowed from his lips with ease. 

 

He watched out of the corner of his eye as she dug through the glove box and pulled out a road map book of the United States. 

 

He had gotten some odd looks when he had bought it. From what he could understand, most people used their phones and other electronics as a GPS. 

 

However, those were easily hacked and used as a way to track someone. Bucky preferred to do everything he could without technology. They were probably tracking the car, either they had been able to hack it or were tracking the license plate, probably both.

 

They needed to ditch the car. He could pick up a twenty-year-old junker; they wouldn’t be able to hack that as well; however, it would be more conspicuous. 

 

It would be so much easier if they could get lost in a city somewhere. Hunker down for a week or two, try and get people off their trail.

 

If they could just get to Atlanta….

 

“Bucky, it looks like if you keep going north, you can hope onto 43, and that will take you to Interstate 20 which leads straight to Atlanta.” Lucy interrupted his thoughts as she turned the map book this way and that in her hands. 

 

He grunted in response and put his foot down harder on the peddle. He wasn’t sure how long the drive would take them, but hopefully, they would be able to get there on one tank of gas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? drop me a comment.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky and Lucy end up at a motel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been having so much fun writing this piece! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.  
> PLEASE COMMENT, KUDOS, BOOKMARK, AND SUBSCRIBE. IT ALWAYS MAKES MY DAY!!!  
> Don't like, don't read.   
> No warnings, enjoy 😊

Bucky pulled into the motel parking lot and looked over at Lucy sound asleep. He had taken some back roads as well as the highway trying to both find and lose any pursuers. There had been one car that seemed pretty determined to follow him, but they pulled off, and a family stepped out to hug some grandparents out at a farmhouse. 

 

It was now past 10 pm, and he had located a run down looking motel on the outskirts of Atlanta Georgia. About three hours into the five-hour drive, Lucy had conked out, exhausted. 

 

Bucky quietly turned off the car and pulled the key from the ignition. It would be safer if he woke her while he went in and got them a room for the night, but he couldn’t bring himself to disturb her sleeping form. He popped the car door open and exited the vehicle as silently as he could. He walked in and got them a room for the night. He paid in cash and left the office as quickly as he arrived. 

 

He quickly got back in the car and moved the vehicle a few spots down from their room. He didn’t want to be parked in front of it if he could help it. Bucky looked over to see Lucy still sleeping soundly. He turned off the car again and made his way to the trunk. He grabbed his two bags as well as hers and flung them over his shoulder. He didn’t bother grabbing their camping gear. They would probably have to dump it anyways. 

 

Bucky shut the trunk and made his way to the front passenger side. He opened the door and looked down at a still sleeping Lucy. He gently unclicked her seatbelt, and slid his arms carefully underneath her legs and back, lifting her effortlessly into his arms. Even with the three bags and Lucy cradled in his arms he could have carried another person before he would feel bogged down by the weight. He made his way on sure feet to their motel room. He propped Lucy up on his knee when he got to the door, using his right hand to support her and his left hand to unlock the door and then open it. 

 

The motel room looked run down with a full bed in the center pushed against a wall, facing a tiny TV. There was a door in the back leading to a bathroom, and a small mini fridge that looked thirty years old. The whole room was done in a sickly yellow coloring that came right out of the 80s.

 

Bucky walked into the room, then used his back to push the door closed. Lucy hadn’t stirred throughout the whole process. He walked over to the bed and set Lucy down onto it. He then set their stuff down in the corner. He walked back towards Lucy and gently pulled her shoes off her feet. Once that was done he tugged the covers on the bed down on the side Lucy wasn’t lying on until it was far enough down that he could gently role Lucy over and tuck her in. She stirred slightly, but only barely to mumble something incoherent and curl into a tight ball under the covers. 

 

Bucky looked down at Lucy all curled up and smiled. He couldn’t help himself and leaned down to place a chaste kiss onto the top of her head. He knew Lucy wasn’t his soulmate, she had another name tattooed on her inner thigh, and Bucky’s own soulmate had been ripped from him. But he couldn’t help but cherish the precious, innocent soul lying in front of him. 

 

Bucky made himself back up from temptation. He went to his bag and grabbed out his tools to make a wire trap on the door. It wouldn’t kill anyone, but it would trigger a sound that would have Bucky up in an instant with a gun trained at the door. 

 

Once that was done, Bucky took the opportunity to use the restroom and take a shower. He hadn’t had one in almost a week. He didn’t like being naked and vulnerable, so he took them as little as possible. 

 

He made it quick and was in and out under five minutes. He quickly donned some pants then lay down on the ground between the bed and the door. He would have preferred the bed. But he didn’t trust himself with Lucy. He had to keep reminding himself that she wasn’t his. That she belonged to another man. If he needed reminding he could just look at the name on her thigh.  _ James Buchanan Barnes.  _ Bucky wondered what kind of man James was. Would he be able to protect Lucy from whatever danger was tracking her? Was he good enough for her? Strong enough? 

 

Lucy was such a kind-hearted and beautiful person. She seemed to make it her mission to get him to smile or engage with her. The game of twenty questions they had played earlier was a perfect example. She had been determined to challenge them both, even though it was painfully obvious Lucy was ten times better at the game than he was. She had guessed his pitifully easy animals like dog, cat, elephant, and so on, while he struggled with hers. She had picked a whale, and that had stumped him for far more than twenty questions, but she had been beyond helpful with hints and so on. 

 

And that song Lucy had been singing before he had switched off the radio. Something about not being able to keep your hands to yourself had nearly stolen his breath from jealousy, Just the thought of someone else’s hands on her, or her hands on someone else had made his blood boil. He had no right to feel that way. She belonged to James Buchanan Barnes, not Bucky the Winter Soldier. He had better be good enough for her; otherwise, Bucky might have to commit another murder. 

 

Bucky allowed his thoughts to drift, his left hand holding a loose grip on a handgun he had slid partway under the bed. Sleep took him with ease, and he slipped into a dreamless slumber. 

 

*******

 

Lucy woke slowly, blinking her eyes blearily. She felt a bed underneath her, and blankets wrapped up to her chin. She shifted her body from her left side to her right and looked around the room with a sleep fuddled brain. 

 

She was in a motel room, that looked like it was straight out of the 80s. She saw their bags piled in a corner and tripwire on the door. The one thing she didn’t see was Bucky. 

 

Her heart rate increased. Where was he? Was he ok? What if something had happened to him? Lucy was suddenly wide awake and panicky. She moved the covers and maneuvered her body towards the right edge of the bed, the one closer to the door. She was about to put her feet on the ground when she looked down and saw Bucky lying on the floor, shirtless and asleep.

 

It was definitely an odd location for him to be. She had expected him to sleep on the bed, not the floor, but that was only a fleeting thought. The thing that caught her attention was his bare torso. 

 

His muscles were beautiful and rock hard from years of using them, but what made her breath catch were the scars that riddled his form. All down his front, she saw bullet scars, stab wounds, and any other kind of scar you could imagine from battle. The wounds were the worst on his lower abdomen where his soul mark had once been and around his left shoulder where the metal arm was attached. Her heart ached for Bucky. How could someone go through so much and survive? 

 

Lucy moved as stealthily as she could and got off the bed on the other side from Bucky. She then tiptoed around the mattress, dragging the comforter and pillow with her. She oh so gently draped the comforter over Bucky’s sleeping form. She thought about attempting to lift Bucky’s head and sliding the pillow behind it but was too afraid it would wake him. Instead, she tossed the pillow back on the bed and laid down beside Bucky, scooching herself under the comforter to snuggle against him. 

 

She felt him jerk awake and froze, terrified she had made the wrong decision. They both stayed frozen for five seconds before she heard Bucky sigh and felt an arm wrap around her and pull her more securely into his side. Lucy relaxed and snuggled more comfortably into Bucky’s warmth. His chest made the perfect spot to rest her head. His firm muscles and steady heartbeat comforted her as nothing else could. 

 

She knew implicitly that Bucky would keep her safe no matter what. He had proven it, time and time again. It made her want to do the same for him. 

 

Lucy lay comfortably in Bucky’s arms, but she wasn’t sleepy. She was that happy content, like when you get a long needed hug from a family member or a dear friend. It wrapped you up in not only a physical feeling of warmth and comfort but an emotional one as well. 

 

If Lucy were a cat, she would be purring. 

 

*******

 

Bucky stared at the ceiling, his right, flesh, arm wrapped around Lucy and his left still lightly gripping the handgun. He knew what he should do. He should put distance between himself and Lucy. Remind her she had a soul mate, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. The physical touch they shared was too valuable and rare for him to let it go. 

 

Bucky craved physical touch; he had always been that way:

 

_ “Bucky! Bucky! Up! Up!”  _

 

_ Bucky looked down to see a little girl, maybe aged three reaching up with tiny hands, insisting her pick her up. He grinned and bent down swooping her up onto his own small, child-like hip. She was a little heavy, but he didn’t mind. He loved holding her. _

 

_ “Bucky, Mama is making chichen an noobles.” The little girl said excitedly right by his ear, bouncing and wiggling with excitement on his hip. _

 

_ “Chicken and noodle soup, Becca.” Bucky heard himself correct as he snuggled the toddler closer. _

 

_ “Yea, That!” She shouted in his ear, making him wince.  _

 

_ He looked up to see a woman standing by an old stove stirring something. The apartment room itself was pretty much one giant room with a bed in one corner and two doors leading off from it. The woman was average height at 5 foot 4 inches. She had dark brown hair that curled around her head just like the little girl in Bucky’s arms did. They had the same blue eyes and wide smile.  _

 

_ This must be his family, Bucky realized passively as he walked towards the woman, stood on his tiptoes and dropped a kiss on his mother’s cheek. He then looked into the pot she was stirring. The pot was full of a delicious looking broth, large chunks of chicken, noodles, carrots, and celery. It smelled divine. _

 

_ “Is it ok if Steve comes over for dinner?” he heard himself ask. _

 

_ “Of course Bucky, you know he is always welcome.” His mother responded still stirring the soup. _

 

_ “Good because he’s waiting outside the apartment door.” His voice came out cheeky. _

 

_ He looked up at his mother to see her turn and give him a stern look, even though her eyes were twinkling.  _

 

_ “Well don’t just stand there young man, go let your guest in. I raised you to have better manners than that.” She scolded, giving a playful swat to his behind as he turned. _

 

_ He heard himself giggle while he raced to the door still holding his sister close. She had cuddled in resting her head against his shoulder contentedly.  _

 

_ He opened the door to see the scrawny kid from his previous flashbacks. The boy, Steve, gave a sheepish grin and walked in. Steve quickly made his way over to Bucky’s mother and also placed a quick kiss on her cheek. His mother obligingly bent down, so it was easier for the small boy to reach.  _

 

_ Bucky felt a rich bubbling sensation of happiness fill his stomach at the site. He loved these people, he would do anything for them, and they loved him too.  _

 

Bucky snapped himself back to reality. He turned his head to confirm that Lucy was the one he was holding to his chest. He checked the room to verify that they were indeed in an old motel room and that they were safe for now. 

 

He allowed his head to thunk back on the ground and he stared at the ceiling where an old white plastic fan and light hung. He was slowly remembering more and more about who he once was. He wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. 

 

****

 

Steve banged his fist against the kitchen counter in frustration, causing the granite to crack. He looked up guiltily around the room. Natasha sat on the couch, reading a book and looking bored. Tony, on the other hand, was glaring at him.

 

“Really Steve! Really!?” Tony yelled as he stalked over to examine the damage done to the Avengers communal kitchen. “We have a whole floor that is designed to be broken by your super soldier strength! Go break something down there! Don’t take it out on my nice granite counters!” 

 

“Sorry, Tony,” Steve said contritely as he rubbed the back of his neck with embarrassment.

 

“You have been on edge for the last three days. First, it was the coffee mug, than it was the remote, followed by the bathroom sink, and now it’s the counter. What’s up?” Tony demanded folding his arms across his chest, just below the glowing circle in his chest.

 

Steve sighed and ran a hand down his face.”We found Bucky’s soulmate.” He said.

 

“WHAT” came Tony’s shout as Bruce and Thor entered the room, talking about something or another. Both men stopped talking and looked at Tony.

 

“Where is she? Or he?” Tony said as he started pulling out his phone. “They need a room in the tower, obviously. I’ve got a few empty ro-”

 

“Tony stop,” Steve said sighing as he put a hand on the man’s shoulder, stilling all that rapid energy from building up anymore. “We lost her.” 

 

“What do you mean lost her?” Tony said looking up at Steve confused.

 

“Her apartment was attacked. We think Bucky was there and intervened, but since then we’ve had no word. And that was three days ago.” Steve said leaning back against the counter and pinching the bridge of his nose.

 

“Jarvis?” Tony asked the empty air.

 

“I have already been scanning for both Mr. Barnes and Ms. Elliot for the last three days with only one sighting of Mr. Barnes at a Walmart in Jackson, Mississippi two days ago. Since then, nothing. I cannot confirm whether Ms. Elliot and Mr. Barnes are traveling together or not.” Jarvis replied.

 

Tony brow had furrowed, and he started pacing the communal living area that included a kitchen and living space. Everyone stayed silent while Tony paced. 

 

Steve watched with fascination; he could almost see the wheels turning in Tony’s brain. Tony stopped abruptly and snapped his fingers.

 

“Jarvis search for any police reports of any crimes or incidents in the southeastern part of the United States that have occurred over the last week,” Tony said.

 

There was a pause of roughly two seconds, then Jarvis replied:

 

“I have found 54,326 reports, sir,” Jarvis replied.

 

“Narrow them down based on distance from Jackson Mississippi and time allowed to travel that far based on crime. Put in a three-hour margin of error.”

 

Another pause, this time slightly longer, then:

 

“Based on your new criteria, sir. I have narrowed down the number of reports to 1,595 reports.” Jarvis said.

 

“Do any of those reports entail odd occurrences, such as an unusual theft or car chase or anything like that?” Tony asked pacing again.

 

“41 thefts, four car chases, and 123 other police reports match your criteria, sir,” Jarvis replied.

 

Tony stopped pacing and looked over at Steve.

 

“This is all a long shot, but if they are on the run they probably had to steal stuff, and if they are being followed, they could have been chased. But I can’t really narrow this further without a direction. So, where do you think he’s headed, Steve.” Tony asked.

 

Steve looked down at his socked feet. He wore black Nike socks that came up to mid-calf. They were mostly covered by his grey sweatpants that hung low on his hips. He thought about Bucky and what he might do. 

 

When they had explored the rest of the apartment building yesterday, they had found a room that  Bucky must have been squatting in. The door had been rigged to explode. If it weren’t for Steve’s shield, Sam and Clint would probably be sporting some pretty severe burns. Even with all of that, the Avengers would be paying for, not only the broken door but also the hole in the wall of another apartment that Steve’s back had been blasted through by the power of the explosion. He still felt guilty about that.

 

The biggest thing to figure out was was Lucy with Bucky. That would change everything if she were. Two people traveling together, especially someone as inexperienced in the art of hiding as Lucy would be much easier to track and find. But on the other hand, Bucky and Lucy might each be traveling alone. If Lucy was traveling alone where would she go? The answer clicked in Steve’s head. Home.

 

Bucky on his own could take care of himself. And if they were traveling together, then the Avengers would just have to get lucky and get to them before anyone else could. 

 

“If Lucy is traveling alone, I think she would go home,” Steve answered slowly, feeling the words in his mouth before letting them be voiced. “But I’m not sure which direction they would go traveling together.” He finished.

 

“Has anyone made contact with her family?” Natasha asked, contributing to the conversation for the first time. 

 

Steve shook his head in response. Natasha set her book down on the couch, stood up and stretched her lithe body to the ceiling. 

 

“Jarvis, send me all the information on Ms. Elliot’s parents,” Natasha said to the ceiling.

 

“Of course Agent Romanov, it has been downloaded to your phone,” Jarvis answered.

 

Natasha turned her head and met Steve’s eyes. “I’ll make sure her family is ok.” She looked down at her phone. “I’ll need a lift though. I’ll have Clint take me on the quinjet. They live in Virginia, so that should take me about an hour and a half to get there with Clint piloting.” She smiled up at them all and glided out of the room on light feet.

 

Tony turned back to Steve. “So that takes care of the parents what about Bucky?” 

 

Steve sighed again. “I’ll take a look at the police reports Jarvis gathered and see if anything catches my eye. Other than that all we can do is wait and hope.”

 

Tony nodded and started heading out of the room. “Oh and I’m taking the price of replacing that counter out of your paycheck,” Tony called back as he left.

 

Steve just shook his head at Tony’s antics. He didn’t even know he got a paycheck. A meaty hand slapped Steve on the back, making his knees buckle slightly from the weight. It was small enough that no one noticed, but it reminded Steve that he definitely was not the strongest member of the Avengers team. He looked up into Thor’s face.

 

“We will find your friend and his mate, have no fear, my friend,” Thor said in his booming voice.

 

After another strong clap on his back, Thor wandered off to the couch and picked up the book that Nat had left. A much gentler, lighter hand was placed on Steve’s forearm. He looked down to see Bruce’s worried face. “We’ll find them, Steve.”

 

Steve nodded in gratitude for Bruce’s words. With the whole team supporting him, he had no doubt they would succeed.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy takes a shower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE COMMENT.   
> SORRY FOR ANY CONFUSION, I ACCIDENTLY PUBLISHED CHAPTER 7 BEFORE CHAPTER 6. DOUBLE CHECK THAT YOU READ THEM IN THE CORRECT ORDER

 

Bucky and Lucy dozed for most of the morning. Both were just happy to enjoy the rest bit from traveling and being hunted, as well as each other's physical touch.

 

Bucky blinked lazily at the ceiling. His body clock told him it was almost noon. He needed to ditch the car and get a new one, that would be easier without Lucy.  

 

He shifted himself a little, signaling to Lucy that it was time to get up. She lifted herself off his chest and sat up. She gave a huge yawn and casually stretched her arms above her head, allowing a peek of skin to appear between the low rise of her sweat pants and t-shirt.

 

Bucky hastily swallowed the saliva that had pooled in his mouth at the sight of her bare skin. He turned his head away and using just his stomach and legs muscles got to his feet. He heard Lucy stand behind him and turned to meet her curious eyes.

 

“What’s up?” She asked.

 

He just shrugged.

 

“You had an odd look on your face. Is something wrong?” She persisted. 

 

Sometimes he wished she wasn’t so perceptive. She read him like an open book, even when he couldn’t. He just shook his head and moved towards their bags lying in a corner of the room. He dug inside his backpack and pulled on a long sleeve shirt. 

 

He was shrugging the garment over his head when he felt a hand on his bareback. He stilled.

 

“Bucky, talk to me.” She sounded pleading.

 

Bucky carefully stepped forward, away from the hand so he could finish putting on the shirt. He was grateful when she didn’t try to stop him. He turned and faced her. 

 

“A lot to do today, that’s all” he replied gruffly hoping she would believe the lie. 

 

She gave him another questioning look, but thankfully, let it drop. Bucky moved around her and made his way to the restroom. He closed the door, emptied his bladder then returned to the bedroom. 

 

He saw that Lucy had sat down on the bed and was staring down at her fingers. He approached her slowly so as not to startle her. He sat down beside her, careful to keep half a foot of distance between them.

 

“I need to ditch the car,” Bucky spoke into the uncomfortable silence.

 

She nodded in response. “When do we leave?” She asked, still staring at his fingers.

 

“I’m going in a few minutes, while you wait here where it’s safe.” He answered.

 

She finally looked up at him. Her eyes searched his face looking for something. He wasn’t sure what she was looking for but she nodded her head.

 

“Ok, but if your not back in two hours, you’re going to be in big trouble mister.” She said.

 

He couldn’t help the crook of a smile that graced his lips at her words. He nodded his head solemnly and crossed his heart:

 

_ “You promise!” His sister demanded.  _

 

_ She looked older than in his last flashback, maybe five or six.  _

 

_ “I promise.” Bucky heard himself say solemnly. _

 

_ “You gotsta cross your heart!” Becca stomped her foot, hands on her hips. She looked so much like their mom when she was angry. _

 

_ “I promise.” Bucky repeated, crossing his heart with exaggerated movements.  _

 

_ A smile broke Becca’s angry face and she flung herself at her brother. Bucky seemed to be expecting it though because he already had his arms out and caught her in a tight hug.  _

 

_ Becca lifted her head and looked up into Bucky’s face. _

 

_ “You gotsta make sure Steve crosses his heart too.” She told him before letting him go and skipping through their apartment to the room they shared. She turned back when she reached the door and gave him a toothy grin, clearly showing she was missing one of her top front teeth. _

 

_ He crossed his heart one more time before he walked out of the apartment.  _

 

Bucky shook his head, hard, bringing himself back to the present. Lucy was looking at him curiously once again but he just said “flashback.” and she nodded her head in understanding. 

 

He got to his feet and went over to his bag to grab a pair of socks and his shoes. He went back to the bed and sat down to put them on. Next Bucky grabbed one of the handguns he had stashed around the room and put it on the nightstand. 

 

He looked over at Lucy and pointed to the gun. “Shoot anyone that isn’t me, ask questions later,” he told her firmly. 

 

She nodded her head then frowned. “But wait. How will I know it’s you coming through the door and not someone else?” She asked.

 

“I’ll knock twice quickly, pause then knock one more time ok?” He asked.

 

She nodded, her facial expression losing the furrowed brow. He grabbed the rest of his gear strapping weapons to his body. He ended up with nine weapons on his person, five knives and four handguns. He shrugged on his leather jacket and made his way to the door. 

 

He turned one more time and showed her without words how to undo the tripwire and then put it back in place, then said, “When I leave you reset it.” 

 

She nodded again. He checked the room one more time but there wasn’t much else he could think to say except: “Don’t open the curtains.”

 

She gave him an eye-roll. “Just go already. Remember two hours or you’ll regret it.”

 

He nodded to her and left. 

 

*******

 

Lucy watched Bucky leave, reset the tripwire then flopped back onto the bed. She stared at the stupid fan and light on the ceiling. 

 

She did not enjoy being left here on her own. It made her feel jumpy. She didn’t feel entirely safe and she would be worrying about Bucky until he got back. Lying on the bed was not helping her nerves though so she got up and started pacing the room. She could take a shower, it had been a while but she was also worried about being naked and vulnerable in the shower in case an intruder came in. 

 

Lucy kept pacing. The least she could do was brush her teeth. She picked up the gun, checked to make sure the safety was on then tucked it in the back of her sweat pants, easy to grab but out of the way. She then dug through her bag and fished out her toiletries. She headed to the bathroom, used the toilet and brushed her teeth before coming out to the bedroom. Only ten minutes had passed. 

 

Lucy groaned in frustration. She paced the room for another ten minutes before she set the gun on the nightstand and grabbed the remote for the TV. She skimmed the channels and stopped on a Golden Girls rerun. She watched the rest of an episode and another then looked at the clock. She had used up another forty minutes. She still had an hour to go. 

 

She looked around the room and back at the clock. Nothing had gone wrong yet, she might as well hop in the shower. She grabbed a fresh pair of clothes followed by the gun and headed to the bathroom. She fiddled with the knobs until she figured out how to turn on the shower and get it the temperature she wanted. She checked the bedroom once more, verifying that the door was indeed locked and the tripwire was still in place. She left the door open a crack just in case. She would rather here an intruder than be startled by them breaking through the bathroom door. 

 

Lucy stripped quickly, grabbed the courtesy shampoo and conditioner then hopped in the shower. She started with the shampoo and relaxed into it, happy to finally get clean. 

 

***** 

 

Bucky pulled up in front of their motel room in the stolen Jeep. They would be ditching this car tonight anyways as well as moving locations so he wasn’t worried about being spotted in it.

 

He checked the time and smiled, he still had 40 minutes before he would be “in trouble” with Lucy. He got out of the vehicle and walked to the door. He remembered to knock twice, then pause and knock again. He put the key in the door and opened it. He heard the chime of the tripwire and walked in closing the door behind him and locking it. Only to turn around and see a naked, wet and soapy Lucy pointing a gun as his chest and trying to wipe water from her eyes one-handed. He froze.

 

Bucky slowly raised his arms in a don’t shoot position and stayed perfectly still. He would probably survive being shot, but he really didn’t feel like testing that, or dealing with the resulting chaos. 

 

Lucy finally got the water out of her eyes and put both hands on the gun, then realized it was him. 

 

“BUCKY WHAT THE HELL!” She shouted flicking the safety on the gun then tossing it on the bed. “I could have killed you DAMN IT!” She put her hands on her very naked hips.

 

Bucky politely averted his gaze, though it was very difficult. “I see that.” He responded then cleared his throat. “Ummm shower?” He finally croaked out.

 

If the situation wasn’t so awkward her reaction would have been hilarious. She looked down at herself and shrieked, covering her breasts and womanhood with her hands before sprinting back into the bathroom.

 

Bucky slowly lowered his hands, then rested his back against the closed door and slid down it, covering his eyes. Lucy was going to be the death of him. 

 

However, closing his eyes was probably the worst thing he could have done at that moment. 

 

He could see Lucy’s naked form behind his closed lids. Bucky groaned and banged his head back against the door. 

 

This was not the time for his mind and body to remind him that he had the body of a virile man in his twenties. It was better when he was a soldier and didn’t have to worry about all this shit. 

 

*******

 

Lucy was going through her own moment in the bathroom. After slamming the door behind her and leaning against it, she realized what had just happened. 

 

She had stood completely naked for the first time in front of a man and almost shot him in the process. Lucy was mortified. 

 

She would not be able to face Bucky ever again. She would have to drown herself in the shower. 

 

Lucy looked down at herself and remembered she was covered in soap. Lucy hopped back into the still running shower and rinsed the rest of the soap from her skin and hair. She put conditioner in her hair and took as long as she possibly could before she had no choice but to get out of the shower.

 

Lucy turned off the water and grabbed one of the never big enough, hotel bath towels. She dried off as much as possible, blotting at her hair then wrapping it up on top of her head. She dragged on panties and a sports bra, followed by a tank top and shorts. 

 

Lucy took in a deep relaxing breath, squaring her shoulders before she opened the door. She walked out to see Bucky sitting with his back against the door, his knees drawn up to his chest, head leaned back and his eyes closed. 

 

She was grateful that he wasn’t looking at her but also disappointed. It was a bit of a bruise to her ego that he had seemed to ignore her nudity while at the same time pointing it out. A small female part of her wanted him to tell her how beautiful and attractive she was, and how he couldn’t look away. Lucy shook off those immature thoughts and sat down on the bed cross-legged in the center. She grabbed one of the pillows and hugged it to her chest.

 

Her brain was telling her to get over herself, but her emotional side was still feeling small and useless. It was always one thing to tell yourself you’re good enough and another to feel it.

 

She heard Bucky shift but didn’t move her eyes from where they were staring blankly at the wall. Lucy felt him sit down near her but didn’t move. 

 

“I’m sorry.” He finally said, his voice sounded blank. 

 

Lucy couldn’t tell if he was being sincere or not without looking at him. She wasn’t brave enough to meet his eyes. 

 

She suddenly heard what sounded like a snort. Lucy couldn’t help herself she looked over to see Bucky covering his mouth, shoulders shaking. She turned her body to face him, terrified he was choking or in some form of emotional distress. 

 

A sound escaped past his hand and then more and more. Lucy pulled the hand from his mouth and a burst of laughter fell from his open mouth. His eyes twinkled and a full belly laugh erupted from his shaking frame. 

 

Bucky was laughing so hard tears fell from his eyes and he couldn’t even catch his breath. Lucy stared in shock, she couldn’t believe Bucky was laughing, but the sound was infectious, making her own lips twitch into a smile.

 

She tried to stop the growing mirth building inside her but it was no use. A musical laugh peeled from her lips joining Bucky’s booming chuckles. 

 

Bucky’s laughs slowed and he gasped for breath. “I’m sorry just…. Your face when you realized it was me.” he gasped out through panting breaths. 

 

That sent Lucy into another peel of infectious laughter. She must have looked ridiculous standing there covered in soap and dripping water all over the floor pointing a gun at the door. 

 

‘Well it was your fault for not saying it was you as you entered.” Lucy fired back when she was able to speak and not laugh. 

 

“We only agreed on the knocking, how was I supposed to know you were in the shower?” Bucky spluttered.

 

“Me taking a shower is not the issue here.” 

 

“Well the least you could have done was grab a towel”

 

“There wasn’t time! I was scared for my life. I just heard the chime, grabbed the gun and ran out. But some hair flew in my face and I couldn’t see sooo I just sorta pointed and hoped my aim was right.” Lucy trailed off, blushing tomato red.

 

Bucky couldn’t help the chuckle that rumbled through his frame. “You would definitely have been a shock to any intruders.” 

 

Lucy shoved Bucky, even more, irritated when he didn’t even budge. “Stop teasing me.” She said half-heartedly.

 

“I’m not,” Bucky said. When Lucy glared at him he puts his hands up. “I swear. You really did shock me.” He continued.

 

A blush had crept up Bucky’s face surprising Lucy. He didn’t seem like a man capable of blushing. 

 

“I take it I’m not the only one who was embarrassed.” 

 

The blush on Bucky’s cheeks deepened, making Lucy giggle. 

 

“Oh stop.” Bucky snapped playfully, getting up from the bed and pacing the room.

 

“Sooooo what’s the plan?” Lucy asked changing the subject.

 

“Well, we can’t stay here,” Bucky replied on a sigh. “ Were leaving tonight, under darkness, switching cars and finding somewhere else in the city to sleep tonight.”

 

He paused then looked directly at Lucy: “We’re going to have to do things you won’t like.” 

 

She looked back at him with warm eyes, “I trust you.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy and Bucky go to someone for help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I know I have been gone awhile. But I just finished the next chapter so I thought I would post it.  
> PLEASE COMMENT, BOOKMARK, KUDUS.  
> I LOVE HEARING FROM YOU GUYS. IT ALWAYS MAKES MY DAY.

When Lucy had said she trusted Bucky she did not expect that would mean walking down the streets of Atlanta at eleven o’clock at night carrying all their stuff. Bucky had his backpack on his back and his rifle bag shrugged onto his right shoulder. Lucy carried her own stuff in her backpack suitcase. They had stored the sleeping bags and other camping gear in a bag in a storage locker that Bucky had broken into.

Lucy wasn’t sure how she felt about the illegal things they were doing. At the same time, she hadn’t had time to process everything that had happened over the last three days. She was still running on adrenaline and survival. 

She was trudging behind him and looking down at her feet feeling pretty tired of walking when Bucky stopped suddenly and Lucy walked right into his backpack covered back and bounced off. She would have fallen if Bucky’s left arm hadn’t shot out and caught her pulling her into his side. 

He then turned them and walked them to the main doors of a highrise building guarded by a man in a security uniform. Bucky reached for the door handle but was stopped by a hand on his arm. He froze, and she could feel his muscles bunching from where he still held her against his left side. 

Lucy placed a hand on his chest hoping that they could avoid a physical confrontation.

“State your business here.” The security guard demanded. He had a bit of a beer belly and looked to be older, in his late 40s. He had a gold wedding band on the left hand that gripped Bucky’s arm and his other hand was placed on his gun.

“I am here to speak to Mr. Petrov.” Bucky’s voice came out casually but he was still tense and ready for a fight. 

“Mr. Petrov?” The security guard sounded surprised then his face turned stony and his fingers tightened on both the gun and Bucky’s arm.

“Mr. Petrov would have told me if he had an appointment since you don’t you’re trespassing and must leave.”

“We don’t have an appointment but Mr. Petrov will want to see me. Tell him Ivan Smirkoff is here.”

Lucy gave Bucky a questioning look but stayed silent. She trusted Bucky to keep her alive. 

The security guard didn’t let go of Bucky’s arm but his hand did move off his gun and up to the walkie-talkie on his shoulder and spoke into it.

“There’s an Ivan Smirkoff and guest here to see Mr. Petrov.” 

Static was heard on the other side followed by a distorted voice coming through. “Send them up.” 

The security guard removed his hand and allowed Bucky to open the door and enter. Lucy followed, feeling very unsure about what was happening.

After entering the building Bucky made a beeline for the elevators with his flesh hand on Lucy’s lower back. They entered and a man stood in the elevator. Lucy felt like she had been thrown back into the 1980s. She had never been in a building that still had someone operating the elevator. 

She took a closer look at him. He didn’t look like a bellhop. He wasn’t wearing a uniform or anything and she was pretty sure that was a gun stuck in his jeans peeking out from underneath his leather jacket when he reached up his arm to hit the button for the top floor. Who the hell were they going to meet that everyone had guns? Lucy was feeling a little underdressed without a weapon. Then again Bucky was a weapon in himself even without all his knives and guns. 

Lucy moved closer to him until she was leaning up against his side and his left arm was now draped across her shoulders and down so her back was against his side and his hand was hovering over her belly. In any other moment, Lucy would be uncomfortable about the position they were in but right now it was nice to have the possessive gesture. It kept her safe from anyone trying to get anywhere near her. 

The ride up to the top was awkwardly quiet at least for Lucy. The man hadn’t even asked them what floor they were headed to, he just hit the button and they rode up the twenty-something floors in silence. 

The elevator finally dinged, signaling that they had reached the top. The doors slid open to reveal a hallway with one door. Bucky moved confidently towards it guiding Lucy in front of him with a hand on her lower back.

Bucky walked them up to the door and knocked three times. Silence engulfed the two of them as they stood and waited.

There was a click at the door as someone turned the lock and opened the door. An older gentleman with silver-white hair, bright blue eyes, and handsome features.

“Ivan!” The man’s face broke into a wide smile as he reached forward and pulled Bucky into a kiss on each cheek. Lucy was shocked. She took a step back, surprised at this sudden act of affection. 

She always considered Bucky to be someone that was not touchy-feely and that she was a special circumstance. She had thought that she was special but it looked like she was just another person to Bucky. That was a hard hit for Lucy to take. She shook it off as well as she could and returned her mind to the present moment.

Bucky pulled back but there was a smile dancing across his lips. “Mister Petrov, kak dela? Proshlo mnogo vremeni.” Bucky spoke in what sounded like Russian.

“YA ochen' khorosh, no udivlen, uvidev tebya zdes', osobenno v etot chas. Chto ya mogu sdelat' dlya tebya, Ivan? A kto eta krasavitsa?” the man replied.

Lucy shrank in on herself a little bit when the man’s eyes turned to scrutinize her. He looked more curious than anything else, which made her feel a little better, but she didn’t like not being able to understand what was being said.

Bucky turned and put an arm around Lucy’s waist and moved her forward before gesturing with his hand and firing off some more things in Russian. “Eto Lucy, i nam nuzhna pomoshch'. My stolknulis' s nekotorymi trudnostyami. Nekotoryye lyudi ishchut Lucy, a mne nuzhny dokumenty.”

A frown creased the older man’s brow, but then he turned and ushered them both with hand movements and words to come inside. 

He closed the door behind them and guided them through his beautiful penthouse apartment to a picturesque living room overlooking the city through floor to ceiling windows. 

A white L shaped sectional couch took up the bulk of the space with a glass coffee table sitting in front of it. 

The man gestured for Lucy and Bucky to take a seat on the couch. Bucky moved Lucy toward the corner and crowded her in. They both set their things at their feet and sat down. Lucy ended up with her left side pressed up against Bucky’s side and her right was against the armrest. 

Lucy was definitely feeling a little squished but also a little bit happy with how physically pushy Bucky was being. She could tell he was doing it because he wasn’t exactly comfortable here and trying to protect her with his body. He had done the same thing when they were in Walmart. It helped remind her that she probably knew him the best. This other person didn’t even know his true name.

Lucy listened as more Russian was spoken from the older man, Mr. Petrov. “Yey nuzhny bumagi? Kak skoro?”

“Nemedlenno..” Bucky responded.

“Khmmm, eto opredelenno budet boleye slozhnym, no ne nevozmozhnym, moy drug. Day mne posmotret', chto ya mogu sdelat'.” Mr. Petrov responded before he pulled out his phone. 

He turned and walked away from Bucky and Lucy as he spoke more Russian into the phone. Bucky leaned back in his seat and put his arm around Lucy pulling her into a cuddled position at his side. Lucy was surprised at how physically affectionate Bucky was being, especially after this morning. She thought he wouldn’t want to be anywhere near her but he seemed to want her glued to his side, not that she was complaining. Bucky was comfortable to be around and just the right kind of body type to snuggle with. He was tall, broad and all muscle. 

This whole situation made it too easy to forget the man’s name written on her skin and desperately wish that it was Bucky’s name. Whoever this James Barnes was, wasn’t here to protect her, or keep her safe. He wasn’t here, defending her from bad guys, holding her when she slept or telling her that it was all going to be ok. Bucky was doing that. When she did find this James person he better have a really good reason for not being here for her when her whole world fell apart. 

Another more horrifying thought crossed Lucy’s mind. What if fate had gotten it wrong. What if James wasn’t her soulmate, what if she wasn’t meant to have one and she got the name by mistake.

A hand was placed underneath her hair and on the back of her neck. Lucy looked up at Bucky. He wasn’t looking at her, he was scanning the room, but she felt him gently squeeze in reassurance before letting go. 

“Ivan?” A female voice spoke from somewhere. Lucy looked up to see an older woman descend the open staircase.

She wore what appeared to be a nightgown with a shawl over top. Her hair was silver and curled around her head. Her eyes were a moss green that seemed to sparkle. The way she moved down the steps was graceful and precise, belying her age. She finished descending and moved toward them. 

Bucky had risen when she first called his “name” and greeted her with a kiss on each cheek. More Russian was spoken but by now Lucy just tuned it out. Bucky would tell her later what they were talking about if it was important.

“-I kto eto?”

Lucy tuned back in when she felt the woman’s eyes on her. Bucky placed a hand on her shoulder and said her name.

“Ah, it is nice to meet the woman who seems to have snagged Ivan’s attention.” More Russian from the woman. 

Lucy just shook her head and gave the woman an apologetic look. 

“I’m sorry I don’t speak Russian,” Lucy said, looking down at her hands in embarrassment.

She was startled when two wrinkled hands entered her vision and clasped her own. 

“It is I who should be apologizing. I know what it is like to walk in a land and not understand what is being said.” The woman had the most beautiful Russian accent that put a floating lilt to her English. “My name is Sasha Petrov. I assume you have already met my husband, Nicoli.”

Lucy nodded and allowed a small smile to grace her lips. 

“I think I did but B-Ivan and him were speaking in Russian the whole time so we never got formally introduced.” Lucy had almost said Bucky instead of Ivan but caught herself at the last minute. Even if these people were nice, Bucky was still lying to them for some reason. 

“Isn’t that just like a man, no courtesy.” Sasha shook her head, with a fond smile on her lips. 

“I honestly wouldn’t know,” Lucy replied with a slight frown. “Besides my brother and dad, Ivan is the first man I’ve been around for longer than a few hours.”

“Well, that’s what happens when you find your other half.” Sasha smiled as she looked towards where they could hear her husband talking on the phone in Russian.

“Oh no, we're not. I mean he’s not. I have someone else’s name on my skin.” Lucy finished lamely and looked down at her hands blushing and looking rather pathetic.

Sasha sat down next to Lucy and wrapped her arm around the girl “No I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed. I’ve just never seen Ivan so comfortable with another person. From what I’ve seen of him he hates being touched and yet he looked so comfortable with his arm wrapped around you and holding you so close. I just thought the only thing that would make him act that way would be his soulmate.”

Sasha squeezed Lucy’s soldier and pulled her into a tighter hug so that Lucy’s head was resting on the older woman’s shoulder. A sniff escaped out of Lucy and suddenly Bucky was there.

He was kneeling in front of Lucy and his hands were holding hers. 

“What’s wrong Lucy?” Bucky looked worried. “Are you hurt?”

Lucy just shook her head. “No, I’m just feeling a little overwhelmed. It’s been a long three days.” Lucy gave a little half-smile, trying to reassure him. 

“And my husband didn’t even offer you anything to eat or drink did he.” Sasha sighed dramatically and got up from the couch, patting Lucy’s shoulder as she went.

“What can I get you two? Tea, coffee, water, juice, food?” Sasha asked as she walked towards the kitchen.

“Ummm some food would be nice, there wasn’t time for dinner,” Lucy said, unsure of herself. 

“Ivan! You didn’t feed the poor girl dinner?! I’m sure you were taught better manners than that.” Sasha scolded brandishing a wooden spoon at Bucky. Before turning and opening the fridge.

Bucky had the decency to look sheepish, but also tried to defend himself “I was more worried about our safety.”

“And what good is safety if you’re starving?” Sasha shot back as she continued to pull things out of the fridge. 

Bucky ducked his head and rubbed at a stain on his jeans. Lucy had never seen Bucky being so fidgety. It was a new look for him, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it.  
“it’s not his fault, I wasn’t feeling ver  
y hungry anyways until just now,” Lucy said, trying to defend Bucky.

“Don’t you start young lady. Ivan should know better. Even if he forgot what his mama taught him. I know that I drilled manners into him myself.” Sasha replied pointing at Lucy with the wooden spoon she was using to scoop food onto two plates.

“Ivan never told me how he met you,” Lucy said, changing the subject, hoping to distract Sasha.

“Oh, he worked for us, dear.” Sasha answered.

“You did?” Lucy asked looking to Bucky for confirmation.

He nodded but didn’t elaborate beyond that.

“What did you do?” Lucy pressed hoping to learn more about Bucky.

Bucky shrugged.“I was Mr. Petrov’s bodyguard.”

“You’re not a good storyteller Ivan,” Sasha said from the kitchen. “He forgot to mention that he saved my husband and son’s life.”

Lucy looked up at Bucky but he just raised an eyebrow at her and remained silent. It drove her nuts how mysterious he could be. She turned back to Sasha who was walking back towards them with two plates piled high with food, silverware, and napkins. 

“What happened Sasha?” Lucy asked curiosity burning inside of her.

“Oh, some people were angry about this or that and thought they could take it out on my family and Ivan stopped them,” Sasha said flippantly as she placed the plates covered with food on the coffee table. 

Lucy decided not to push for any more information. From the few hints she had picked up, it sounded like these people were involved in some illegal things.

Not that she was complaining. Lucy’s views on morality were the last thing on her mind. First and foremost was survival. 

“Now eat you two, I won’t see you starving in my house,” Sasha spoke in a very no-nonsense tone as she sat gracefully on the other side of the couch. 

Bucky immediately dug in, eating like a starving wolf. Before this, they had been snacking on granola bars and cans of fruit. It satisfied the hunger cravings but not much else.

Lucy more gracefully took a bite and couldn’t help the little groan of pleasure that escaped her lips. The food was delicious, it seemed to be some form of cabbage dish full meat and other veggies.

‘Whaa ith thish?” Lucy spoke her mouth full of amazing food. 

Sasha through her head back and let out a tinkling laugh. “I’m glad you enjoy my cooking. It is an old family dish called solyanka. My mother taught me how to make it many years ago.”

Lucy swallowed. “Thank you so much for sharing. If we weren’t on the run I would totally ask you for the recipe.” 

“Oh nonsense,” Sasha scoffed. “It doesn’t matter if you’re on the run or not. You must take every opportunity available to do the things you want. Nicoli and I have been on the run for as long as I can remember and we still managed to have three children and create an empire to support them.”

Lucy felt in awe of this woman. She was incredible. 

“Really?! How in the world did you manage that?” Lily asked before taking another bite of food. 

“Honestly I’m not sure, but what got me through it were the little moments. Like a good morning kiss from my husband, making a home-cooked meal. When my son lost his first tooth and it accidentally ended up in the garbage disposal so Nicoli had to do some plumbing to rescue it. It’s those moments that make life worth living.” Sasha spoke.

Lucy couldn’t help the swelling of emotion she felt at those words. Sasha reminded her so much of her mother, Mary. Mary always spoke about those little moments and cherished them. 

Lucy couldn’t stop the little hiccup of breath that escaped her, nor the one after that. She felt the tears well in her eyes and start to fall. She tried her best to keep it in, but the more she fought, the harder she cried.

“Luce! Lucy.” 

Lucy heard Bucky’s voice but couldn’t respond through her hyperventilating breaths. She always did this when she cried and her face got all red.

Bucky wrapped her in his arms and pulled her into his lap. All Lucy could do was clutch at his shirt in a death grip and try and muffle her sobs. 

She could hear Bucky murmuring something but wasn’t cognizant enough to understand what he was saying. 

There was nothing Lucy could do at this point but ride out the wave of emotions.

*******

Bucky was terrified. He had no idea how to handle this situation. Flying bullets? No problem. Killing someone? Easy. Dangerous car chases? A breeze. A crying woman? He was waaay out of his depth. 

Bucky did the only thing he could think of, he picked Lucy up and put her on his lap and held on for the ride. He tried whispering to her, rocking her, soothing her, but the tears kept coming. Finally, he ended up just holding her close. 

Sasha had stepped back politely, grabbed a box of tissues from a bathroom, deposited it on the coffee table in front of Bucky and Lucy, then left the couple alone so they could have some privacy.

Bucky wasn’t sure how long they sat there before Lucy started to slow her crying and catch her breath. 

Another few minutes passed before Lucy’s last hiccup, then silence. 

Lucy’s death grip eased and she shifted in Bucky’s lap to get more comfortable. Bucky allowed his head to rest against the back of the sofa and sighed in relief. 

“Sorry about that,” Lucy said after another moment of silence.

Bucky just grunted in response, too emotionally worn out to respond any other way. 

“Sasha just reminds me a lot of my mom, and how much I miss her. I bet she heard about what happened at my apartment. Is there any way I can call her?”

Bucky thought about that, as long as she used a burner phone that they tossed it immediately he didn’t see why she couldn’t reassure her family. 

“Possibly.” He responded, “I'll see what I can do.”

Lucy threw her arms around Bucky’s neck and hugged him.

“I haven’t told you yet how thankful I am for what you’ve done for me. The last three days I’ve been on survival mode and unable to process anything. And it kinda all just hit at once, hence the crying.”

Bucky lifted his right hand and gently cupped Luce’s face. He was utterly entranced by this conundrum of a woman. She was beautiful. 

Lucy lifted her own hand and cupped Bucky’s, pressing his palm more firmly to her cheek.

Bucky looked at Lucy’s lips then back up to meet her eyes, there was something there that he hadn’t seen before, a level of intensity, or maybe heat. He licked his lips. 

Bucky couldn’t have stopped himself, even if he had wanted to. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against Lucy’s. 

Lucy was still for an instant before her arms wrapped around Bucky’s neck once more and tilted her head to deepen the kiss. 

Bucky moaned in pleasure and brought his left hand up so he could cup the back of Lucy’s neck, and take control of the kiss. 

Bucky opened his mouth and nipped lightly at Lucy’s bottom lip. Lucy responded with a gasp allowing Bucky to give a tentative foray with his tongue. 

Lucy responded in kind with her own tongue. The kiss grew deeper and more intense as their tongues tangled and detangled. 

Bucky knew, even without his memories, that this was the best damn kiss he had ever had in his unnaturally long life. It was sexual, sensual, and soul-wrenching. Bucky would never be the same after this kiss.

Lucy finally pulled back to get some air. She looked at him with relaxed, happy eyes. 

“Wow.” She breathed out. “That was….”

Bucky nodded in agreement, there were no words to describe the power of that kiss. Lucy ducked her head and pushed some hair that had escaped from her ponytail behind her ear. 

“I don’t-“ Lucy started then stopped. “I” she tried again, then stopped again. Lucy huffed out a breath “Where are we staying tonight?”

Bucky shrugged. “Here, we don’t really have a choice. Sasha would be up in arms if we didn’t stay the night.” 

“K” Lucy replied. 

Even though she was still sitting on his lap, Bucky felt like Lucy was suddenly miles away from him. 

Lucy pushed herself up and off Bucky’s lap. “I should probably go and let Sasha know that I’m alright.” 

Bucky didn’t know how to respond so he just nodded. He was left sitting on the couch while she left the room. 

Bucky scrubbed at his face feeling more lost than when he was with hydra. 

 

Russian translations:

Mister Petrov, kak dela? Proshlo mnogo vremeni. → Mr. Petrov. How are you? It’s been awhile. 

YA ochen' khorosh, no udivlen, uvidev tebya zdes', osobenno v etot chas. Chto ya mogu sdelat' dlya tebya, Ivan? A kto eta krasavitsa? → I’m very good, but surprised to see you here, especially at this hour. What can I do for you Ivan? And who is this beauty?

Eto Lyusi, i nam nuzhna pomoshch'. My stolknulis' s nekotorymi trudnostyami. Nekotoryye lyudi ishchut Lyusi, a mne nuzhny dokumenty.  
→ This is Lucy and we need some help. We have run into some difficulties. Some people are after Lucy and I, and she needs papers.

Yey nuzhny bumagi? Kak skoro?  
→ She needs papers? How soon?

Nemedlenno.  
→ Immediately.

Khmmm, eto opredelenno budet boleye slozhnym, no ne nevozmozhnym, moy drug. Day mne posmotret', chto ya mogu sdelat'  
→Hmmm that will definitely be more challenging, but not impossible my friend. Let me see what I can do

I kto eto?  
→and who is this?

**Author's Note:**

> The winter soldier kills some people and doesn't understand what it means to give personal space.


End file.
